Plainsmen earn second place at Hershey Invite

A day before the blizzard hit late last week, the Plainsmen golf team headed to Sutherland for the Hershey Invite on Thursday, April 12. 

The temperatures were comfortable but the wind blew throughout the round, sometimes gusting up to about 25 mph. 

“The greens were noticeably slow, and that took most of us by surprise. It took a few putts before we actually got the ball to the hole,” Coach Troy Kemling said.

The PC team came in 17 strokes behind the number one team of the day, North Platte’s JV team, who had a 318 team total. 

PC finished up with 335, which was enough for second place. 

Carson Thelander was the team leader, and took fifth individually. 

“Carson was in control of his game, hitting quality shot after quality shot.  It was the best I have seen him hit the ball with the driver and irons,” said Kemling.

Seniors Josh Johnston and Tyson Patrick also placed in the top 10 individually, Johnston took sixth, and Patrick 10th.

Kemling also noted that despite a rough start for a few of the boys, they were able to end the day with a game they were proud of. 

“We had a quality team score today, especially with the way some of the golfers began their round. Josh, Tyson, and Carson all had triple bogies or worse in the first few holes to start their rounds.  Each were able to settle down and played more consistently from that point on.”

Some team members continue to improve in deeper aspects of the game as well. “Aaron has impressed me with his mental approach this year.  He’s no longer trying to mash the ball but has taken some velocity off each shot in order to hit it straighter.”

Overall, the boys had a great day and Coach Kemling was pleased with their performance. “It is satisfying to have everyone score in the 80s,” he said.

Team scoring: 1. North Platte JV, 318; 2. Perkins County, 335; 3. Hershey, 350; 4. Valentine, 353; 5. Sutherland, 358; 6. Sandhills-Thedford, 392; 7. NP St. Pat’s, 411; 8. South Loup, 449; 9. Stapleton, NTS. 

Individual scoring: 1. Finn Lucas, NP JV, 77; 2. Drew Phillips, NP JV, 79; 3. Tanner Ruda, NP JV, 79; 4. Gabe Becher, Hershey, 80; 5. Carson Thelander, Perkins County, 80 (40-40); 6. Josh Johnston, Perkins County, 82 (42-40); 7. Taylon Schuster, Sutherland, 84; 8. Dylan Hathom, Valentine, 84; 9. Blake Barner, NP JV, 85; 10. Tyson Patrick, Perkins County, 86 (42-44). 

Next action

The Enders Invite that was scheduled for Saturday, April 14 was postponed to today, April 18. Results will be in next week’s issue. 

The Perkins County Invite that was scheduled for Tuesday, April 17 was cancelled due to snow on the course. 

Tuesday, April 24, the PC golf team is scheduled to play at Garden County at 9 a.m.