LH golfers get win over Connellsville
CONNELLSVILLE – No coach likes to win anymore than Don Crawford does, and he was happy with Thursday’s win, but at the same time, he had a word of warning for his golfers. Laurel Highlands built up a big edge in play involving the top three golfers on both sides, while the bottom two were even and that was enough to wrap up a 205-222 win over Connellsville in Division I, Section 2 action over the front nine at Pleasant Valley Country Club.
In studying the results, the Mustang coach said, “Four of our players were off their normal games today, and shooting scores like that can get you in trouble. We have four tough matches ahead, playing Mount Pleasant, Belle Vernon, Albert Gallatin and Uniontown all in a row, and if we shoot the same score that we did today, we won’t beat any of those teams.”
Connellsville coach Ken House felt play was “alright until the last two holes. Then those last two made a bad day all around for us with bogies and double bogies that killed us as a team. We were close up to there, but the double bogies hurt us. We need to work some more on our short games.”
Brandon Katzeff and Jarred Detwiler were medalists for the Mustangs (5-1, 3-0) and the overall match with 4-over-par 38’s. Jordan Craig and Nathan Pritts led Connellsville (2-2, 1-2) with 43s.
Katzeff got away to a good start and was only one over after six, but then ran into a snag on seven (417-yard, par 4) and eight (366-yard, par 4) that cost him three strokes.
He said, “While I didn’t have any birds, I was still playing pretty consistent until seven and eight. On seven, I hit my drive left into the trees and had to punch out. Then I hit short of the green, but chipped on and got a 10-foot putt for a bogey. On eight, I hit a really great drive within 60 yards of the green, but then I hit a real bad wedge shot to the right, hit on and three-putted for a double bogey.
“My irons were working good today, but a couple of really bad shots on seven and eight were the only bad factors to my game overall.”
Detwiler added, “I didn’t have any birds, but I did have four bogies. My driving was bad all day. On eight, I had a bad drive into the trees, but I chipped out and got on the green, saving par with a four-foot putt.
“I got off to a good start with three pars, but then offset two of them with bogies. I didn’t have any double bogies, and that was a big key to my score. Bogies can hurt you, but double bogies will kill you.”
Craig noted that she had “a bad day all around. I hit only one green in regulation, then I ran into bogey trouble. My irons and putter just weren’t there.”
Pritts allowed, “My drives and second shots were not there today, and I ran into bogey trouble. I hit only two greens in regulation. My putter was the best part of my game, and while I putted well after I got on the greens, my problem was getting on.”
The Falcons will be on the road next week, playing at Albert Gallatin on Tuesday and at Yough on Thursday.
In an ironic sidelight to the match, two Laurel Highlands reserve golfers gave their coach that many good reasons to smile.
In addition to the regular varsity golfers, both coaches played three reserves with Matthew Hoover (41) and Jeremy Boskovitch (43) leading the Mustangs.
Crawford pointed to the scores and said, “How about that. My No. 8 golfer, a freshman, shoots 41, and my 10th player, a sophomore, gets 43. Both of them shot better than three of our starters.”
Sara Bonchosky (45) rounded out the LH scoring. For CAHS, Greg Petrun had a 50, and Craig White and Justin Davanzo shot 52s.
CHIP SHOTS: The individual section qualifier will be played Monday, Sept. 23, at Duck Hollow, starting at 10 a.m. The semifinals will be Sept. 30, and the finals Oct. 7 with sites for the latter two still to be determined.