Laurel Highlands golfers top Belle Vernon
BELLE VERNON – Another of the oldest cliches in sports is the reminder that for a team to expect to be a winner, they have to get away to a good start. Brandon Katzeff and Chris Bonchosky did that in a literal sense yesterday as they led Laurel Highlands to a 200 to 215 win over host Belle Vernon in Division I, Section 2 golf action at Willowbrook Golf Course.
Both got away to a good start on each layout, attributing good driving off the tees to begin with, as keying their team-leading scores. Katzeff finished with a one-under-par 35, with his card including an eagle and coming within a shadow of a second one. Bonchosky was three-over with a 39.
Joe Pirilla led Belle Vernon, and was runner-up for match medal honors, with a one-over 37.
Katzeff eagled the sixth (454, 5) where he “hit a good, long drive on the right side of the fairway, then hit a wedge to within six feet of the cup and got the putt.”
He just missed a second eagle on No. 2 (435, 5) where he “popped my drive up, but still ended up in the fairway. My nine iron from about 150 yards out landed five feet from the pin where my eagle putt try lipped the cup, but I got the second try for a bird.”
He also had two bogies, noting, “I had real good drives to start both. On seven (372, 4) I was about 60 yards from the green, then hit short with a wedge, chipped on, and two-putted. On eight (398, 4), I hit a two iron drive right down the middle, about 100 yards short of the green, then hit a gap wedge over the green, but chipped on and two-putted from 10 feet. Overall, driving was the best part of my game today. I drove well, and putted pretty consistently.”
Bonchosky had two birdies on his card, on No. 2 and No. 8, with “driving being the good part of my game overall today, except maybe on eight.”
On No. 2, Bonchosky “hit a good drive to about 120 yards from the green, then hit a gap wedge to within 10 feet and two-putted. On eight, I didn’t hit too good a drive, going to the left and landing about 130 yards out. But then I hit a gap wedge again to the green and dropped a 15-foot putt.”
While the two Mustangs drove away to good starts, Pirilla ran into trouble on number one (361, 4), but recovered and went on to be one-over.
He noted that “other than one, I hit my driver real good and straight, and my putting wasn’t bad either. I hit the greens consistently and two-putted.”
On the first, he “pushed my drive right and had an unplayable lie under a tree, then hit short of the green. On two, I hit a good drive within 150 yards of the green, then hit a nine iron to the green and two-putted from 15 feet for a birdie.”
Laurel Highlands coach Don Crawford was pleased to get the win, but he also had a reminder for his Mustangs (7-2, 4-1), who face two really tough matches in the week ahead.
Crawford said, “This was a section win, and that’s an accomplishment, but when you have four players scoring in the 40’s, you will not beat Albert Gallatin, Uniontown or Mount Pleasant. To beat the top teams you have to have five starters at 39 or less.
“We play Albert Gallatin next Tuesday and Uniontown on Thursday, both at Duck Hollow, and we have to be under 40 if we expect to beat them.”
Belle Vernon coach Jim Russell said of his Leopards (2-5, 2-3), “We have been around 205 at home, and last week we won at Madison with 205, but we lost here today with the same score. One big point for Laurel Highlands is their experience over our four underclassmen in the lineup, which is a big factor when you play quality program like Don has.”
Belle Vernon plays at Connellsville next Tuesday, then returns home Thursday to complete the first round against Albert Gallatin.