Auburn Hills was the site for a River Ridge District golf match on Monday and Pulaski County won the round in a match shortened to nine holes.
“Mother nature took over at the first River Ridge District match of the season,” said Salem coach Blaine Hancock. ” The rain came down in sheets. It was anyone’s match as the wet conditions made it difficult to score out there.”
Salem sophomore Mike Bateman didn’t let the inclement weather both him as he tied Harris Camp of Hidden Valley for medalist honors, both with a nine-hole 36.
“Mike stayed patient in tough conditions and continued to grind out an even par round,” said Hancock. “Nothing came easy and scores were higher than usual in our district with the weather.”
Pulaski had three of the top eight scores to win the round with a team score of 157. Just six strokes separated the next six teams as Hidden Valley carded 161, Blacksburg had 162, Cave Spring and Patrick Henry had 164 each and both Salem and Christiansburg came in at 167.
After Bateman Salem’s next low was freshman McKenzie Eversole with a 42. Senior Zach Bocock had 44 and sophomore Eli Wells rounded out the scoring with a 45.
The Spartans were without junior standout Ashnoor Kaur, who posted a solid +1 score on Monday in the R&A Girls Amateur Championship. At press time she was tied for 22nd heading into the second day of play. The top 64 after Tuesday’s round will move on to the match play portion of the championship.
Last Thursday the Spartans competed among 16 teams and 80 golfers in the Woodford Invitational at the Wytheville Golf Club. Salem posted a respectable 314 team score, again without Ashnoor.
“We gave ourselves a chance,” said Hancock. “The team competition was tight with 10 teams within 20 shots of first place.”
River Ridge District teams all finished with a 315 or better, as all but Cave Spring were in the field. Bateman paced the Spartans with a two-over 72 to finish tied for seventh individually. After a 38 on the front nine he closed with a strong 34 on the back nine, racking up three birdies on the way to a top 10 finish.
Two other Spartans found themselves in the top 30 . Bocock, who just committed to JMU to pitch for the baseball team next fall, made his season debut to finish tied for 27th with a 78. Zach had a 44 on the front nine but finished strong with a 34 on the back nine and finished with three birds.
Sophomore Croix Bowen also found his way into the top 30, firing a 79.
“This is a resilient team and will continue to fight to post their best possible scores,” said Hancock. “When we have Ashnoor back in our lineup we will be scoring right with the top teams.”
Salem was scheduled to play in the Franklin County/Salem Invitational at the Hidden Valley Country Club on Wednesday but results were too late for publication. Today the Spartans will be at the Waterfront Country Club to take on Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy, Patrick Henry and Lord Botetourt in a non-district match.
