GA, FA golf teams take 1st and 2nd at Camden Classic
Mar. 1—The 2021 high school golf season is officially underway as Glynn Academy and Frederica Academy started at the Camden Classic at Osprey Cove Golf Club on Saturday.
Glynn Academy took home the win with a 293 team score, and the Knights finished in second place with a 296 — three strokes off the Terrors.
The Terrors low scorer was Williamson Mosher, who shot a 71. Trey Pralinski was two behind him with a 73, Grady Sanders shot 74 and Shep Davenport shot a 75.
Those were Glynn's top four scores that went to the total score. Rounding out the Terrors who participated was Chris Roddini, who shot a 79 and Joe Carter with an 82.
"I was pleasantly surprised. We've been working hard on our wedge games and our course management," said Glynn Academy coach Mike Zito. "They did an excellent job of executing those things this weekend. Any time you shoot under 295, you should win a tournament. It's early on in the season, but it's a great way to kick off the season and to know that we have that kind of potential.
"We're kind of young. We've got two seniors, and my third senior is out with an issue with his hand. So I think we're going to be a little bit stronger once we get him back. We were talking about our goal being breaking 300 this year, and then to shoot 293 was pretty awesome."
Glynn will play in the Frederica Invitational today at Jekyll Island Club, then will host their annual Johnny Paulk Invitational on Saturday.
Thomas Henderson of Frederica Academy tied for low medalist as he finished the tournament with a 70. Frederica Academy coach Tom Willis said he was impressed with Henderson because he won in his first tournament as a Knight.
"Thomas is a senior transfer from Ohio, and he has a lot of game," Willis said. "He's confident, yet he thinks his way around the golf course very well. He has a lot of tournament experience, and he had five birdies on the day, two of them stress-free two-putt birdies when he drove the green on the par 4 12th and hit one of the par fives in two. That's a great start to the season for him, and I'm excited to see what he will do the rest of the season."
Roy Boyd, who won this event last year, shot the second-best score for the Knights.
"Roy won this tournament last year in some brutal conditions, and it was good to see him have another good day after struggling a bit in our preseason qualifiers," Willis said. "He is a threat to go low on any day."
Freshmen Aarnav Nath and Travis Cavalier were the following two best as Nath shot a 76 and Cavalier a 77.
Nath is a transfer from Dubai, and Willis said if it weren't for his triple-bogey on the first, he would have shot lower.
"He played steady golf from then on to shoot 76 despite missing four makeable birdie putts on the backside," Willis said. "He was hitting the driver well and only missed two fairways on the day.
"Travis could have been much lower too. He had a double and a triple bogey on the backside but finished it up with a birdie on his 18th hole, which he almost holed from 150 yards, leaving it one inch from the cup."
The Knights' B team finished as followed, Parker Jules (84), Eli Brickman (89), Edward Stephenson (91) and Blake Holloway (92)
Jules was the lone female in the field and, per GHSA rule, had to play from the men's tees, but that didn't slow her down as she paced the B team.
"Still, she beat half the field and led the B team in scoring as she got off to a fast start with a birdie on the first hole," Willis said.
Willis said it was a good day for his team, even without some of their top players.
"We were without two of our top players, Jackson Byrd and Jack Roberts, who were ineligible to play as eighth-graders due to GHSA rules, but we really showed our depth by almost winning the tournament anyway," Willis said. "Overall, it was a successful day and hopefully will give us a starting point from which to improve."
The Knights will play at the Frederica Invitational today at Jekyll Island Golf Club, and Willis said they're hoping to build off this first tournament's momentum.
