East High Golf - Thursday, May 2, 2024

Talen Nasone tees off on the par-three 13th at Quail Ridge.

The East High golfers headed down to Winfield on Thursday, May 2, for the Winfield Invitational.  Last year's tournament was played at the Winfield Country Club, an old-school golf course with style and character that didn't agree with the young whipper-snappers that make up our squad.  Quail Ridge Golf Course, the site of this year's event, is a more modern setup that our boys were excited to have the chance to play.

After a rough tournament at MacDonald on Monday, I was encouraged by how the boys performed in Winfield.  As has been the case all season, our squad was led by Talen Nasone.  Talen shot a five-over par 77 to finish T4th.  Obviously that is a solid finish, and if it weren't for some bad luck on the greens he might be winning some of these tournaments.  Still, a solid finish from Talen.

Despite being on "62 watch" when the tournament began, Anderson Tung instead had to settle for an eleven-over par 83, which was good enough to tie him for 8th.  As usual, Anderson's play was steady, carding one score of 6, and seventeen 4s and 5s.  East High was one of only two squads that placed multiple players in the top ten.

The most pleasant surprise of the day was Henry White.  Due to inconsistent play this season, Henry has bounced back and forth between varsity and JV.  But on this day, Henry played his best round of the season, shooting a 97 that was good for T37th.  The key moment of the day (and possibly the season) for Henry occurred when he lost his tee shot on his sixth hole of the day (#3).  Earlier in the season, a stroke of bad luck like that would've completely derailed his round.  And while he did end up with a 9 on that hole, he bounced back and played solid, steady golf the rest of the round.  It had been awhile since I'd seen Henry so pleased on the golf course, and it warmed my heart.  I'm excited to see if this round positively impacts the rest of his season.

Prior to Monday's struggles, Hagen Shane had posted two straight rounds in the 90s.  While he didn't quite get back into the 90s on Thursday, he did play much better than he had on Monday.  Hagen shot a 101 to finish T47th.

We got some bad news earlier in the week as we learned that our lone senior, Owen Knipp, would miss the remainder of the season after breaking a finger in a tragic dog-walking accident.  Freshman Kyran Shane stepped into his spot and did an admirable job.  He shot a 102 (beaten by his older brother by one shot!), which included a solid 47 on the front nine, and finished T49th.

And then there was Donovan Bergen.  He struggled all day on his way to a score of 110.  I would highlight the fact that his back nine score was ten strokes better than his front nine, but unfortunately, he played the back nine first.  Donovan finished 57th.

As a team East High finished T5th, and was actually just one shot away from 4th place.  Overall, it was a solid showing for our golfers.  For complete tournament results, click here.