GOLF

It’s tournament season for high school golf and before recognizing some Midland programs and players, a quick update on ‘Where Are They Now?’

The Midlands is one the most fertile seedbeds for developing golf in the entire world. When taken into consideration the total population of the Midlands, how many people actually play golf, our ratios of how many from this local area play college golf, then graduate to professional golf is quite amazing.

It’s a fact that most sports enthusiasts could care less about, but I have been quite enamored for decades.

Kate Bonham, a Gilbert native and 2018 River Bluff High School graduate who played for coach Roger Smith just finished her freshman year at North Greenville College. She had much fun and a very fruitful year.

“I set a personal record for my team per-formance this spring and my game just kept improving throughout the year,” beamed the upcoming sophomore who did not even start playing golf until her freshman year in high school.

“Coach (Sarah) Zaeangle, one of my softball coaches, encouraged me to try golf when I was 14. The golf coach, Roger Smith, was her high school golf coach at Brookland Cayce and thought it would be good to be part of his River Bluff team.”

When asked about surprises during her first year as a student athlete at North Greenville College, highlights and the future, Bonham had this to say,

“The highlight of my freshman year was meeting lifelong friends,” she said. “I don’t know if I would call this a surprise, but time management is so important. I really had to learn how to balance school, athletics and a social life.

“Lord willing, I will have three more years of golf left. Three more years to try to make All-Conference team and shoot more and more personal records.”

The Ponderosa Club in Batesburg-Leesville was the site of the region 5-5A championship. Lexington High School earned the title with a 1-stroke win over Chapin. River Bluff placed third and Dutch Fork fourth.

Maverick Mullinex earned the top spot as the individual champion with Jacob Fuller (Chapin) placing 2nd, followed by Dillon Hite (Lexington), Blaine Williams (Chapin) & Logan Biggers (River Bluff) tied 4th, Ashton Eubanks (River Bluff) and Jay Locker (Chapin) 7th.

This past Monday at Wescott Plantation, it was deja vu as the Wildcats edged Wando by 1 stroke to win the Class 5A Lower State title with a score of

305. Dillon Hite led Lexington with an even par score of 72 to finish 3rd overall.

Jay Locker placed 7th with a score of 75 to help Chapin (324) place 6th overall in the team standings. River Bluff shot a 333 to finish 8th overall.

All 3 teams qualified for the 2-day state championship that starts Monday at the Country Club of Lexington. The Wildcats are seeking their 2nd state title in school history and 1st since 1991.

Also there will be a brand new summer family golf initiative announced next week and researching details now.

The initiative will include multiple golf facilities collaborating to grow golf for ages 6–16.