Young golf team finishes 5th in Austin

By Sam Waller

Albany finished fifth out of 12 in the team standings in their first appearance since 1994 at the state golf tournament.

The tournament was played Monday-Tuesday, May 9-10 at Lions Golf Course in Austin.

Albany shot a team score of 358-352–710 to move up a spot in the final round. The Lions were among seven teams to improve on their first-round score.

“We shaved six strokes off our team score,” coach Tate Thompson said. “We ended up catching Forsan and beating them by one stroke, but couldn’t quite catch Hamilton for fourth.”

Lindsay won the team title on the second playoff hole after tying Vega at 684. Goldthwaite was third at 687 with Hamilton 10 strokes back.

All five Albany players finished in the top 40 of the 71-player field. Lute Wheeler finished 22nd at 86-86–172. Ty Richards tied for 26th at 95-85–180. Houston Heatly (89-92–181) and Ayden Balliew (92-89–181) tied for 28th, while Luke Marshall (91-97–188) tied for 39th.

With a lineup of four sophomores and a freshman, Thompson said the tournament was a learning experience for Albany.

“Mostly, it was dealing with the intimidation factor of being there for the first time,” he said. “I think we kind of got away from our plan the first day, but we learned a little about course management and making better decisions.”

Team totals – 1. (won playoff) Lindsay, 335-349–684; 2. Vega, 339-345–684; 3. Goldthwaite, 346-341–687; 4. Hamilton, 352-345–697; 5. Albany, 358-352–710; 6. Forsan, 355-356–711; 7. New Home, 381-357–738; 8. Mason, 380-368–748; 9. Grapeland, 395-398–793; 10. Yorktown, 393-401–794; 11. Garrison, 420-390–810; 12. Bosqueville.

Individual Top 10 – 1. Ethan Boggs, Morton, 151; 2. Cordell Knox, Latexo, 155; 3. Casen Brorman, Vega, 158; 4. (tie) Tyner Haile, Hamilton, 159; Jackson Patrick, Goldthwaite, 159; Drew Alexander, Yorktown, 159; 7. (tie) Ty Chrisman, Centerville, 160; Kylan Richardson, Vega, 160; 9. (tie) Mason Guinn, Hamilton, 162; Trevor Melton, Chico, 162; Cole Hermesmeyer, Goldthwaite, 162; Landry Rogers, Lindsay, 162.