Colquitt golf team wins Vidalia tournament

Published 9:54 pm Saturday, April 8, 2006

MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County High golf team continued its remarkable run on Saturday when it shot a 294 to win Vidalia High’s rain-shortened Indian Invitational.

The Packers have won the last three tournaments they have entered. They were the runners-up in the other two tournaments they have played in.

“We’re playing pretty well,” Colquitt County golf coach Donald Dale said on Saturday after the second day of the tournament was canceled because of the storm that rolled through Georgia.

“We’ve just got to keep it going.”

And the Packers won’t have long to wait to get out on the course again.

On Monday, the Packers will travel to Tifton’s Spring Hill Coun-try Club for the annual Blue Devil Invitational.

The Packers played at Rocky Creek Golf Club in Vidalia on Friday and were scheduled to play at Vidalia Country Club on Saturday.

Tournament officials waited until 3 p.m. before sending the teams home.

“There was thunder all around,” Dale said. “It was ugly.”

The way the Packers have been playing is not.

Colquitt opened the tournament season with a 305 good for second place in the Bearcat Invitational at Bainbridge Country Club. Tift County was first with a 304.

In the cold and windy Demon Invitational in Warner Robins, the Packers shot a 317 to finish just a stroke back of Statesboro.

Colquitt has won the last three tournaments it has played in and has not shot above 294.

The streak started with the 289 it shot to win the Trojan Invitational at Grand Island Club in Albany on March 27. Tift County was second, 10 shots back.

On April 1, Colquitt won its own Knuck McCrary Packer Invitational by shooting a 294.

Colquitt equaled that score on Saturday, beating Northview High of Duluth by two shots.

Benedictine and Lovett each had a 300, Glynn Academy turned in a 302; Auburn, Ala., and Centennial each had a 303; Hilton Head, S.C., shot a 305; Statesboro had a 306 and Tift County shot a 307.

The Packers were led by senior Matt Smith and freshman Clarke Hendrick, each of whom shot a 71. Josh Dale and ailing Aaron Elrod each had an 76.

Elrod was sick with a stomach virus, but still played.

Also for the Packers, Dusty Campbell shot an 81 and Ian Hester turned in a 90.

“The team score was really good,” Donald Dale said. “Anytime you get down toward 290, it’s a good score. Our kids battled and battled.”

And the Packers coach said the score was close to being even lower. He said Josh Dale missed three short putts, but still finished with a birdie and a par.

Smith and Elrod each got a birdie on the last hole to ensure the 2-shot win over Northview.

The tournament drew 64 teams. The teams that played Rocky Creek, as Colquitt County did, were to play the Vidalia Country Club course on Sunday.

Dale said he understood that a champion on each course would be declared, but that the low score at Vidalia on Saturday was a 300 shot by Lovett.

Dale said Smith and Hendrick were named to the all-tournament team in what he called “a big-time tournament.”

Tift County’s Chesley Gunn, who has signed to play at Darton College next season, was the tournament’s low medalist with a 68.

Gunn has been the low medalist in three of the six tournaments Tift County has played in.

And the Packers will see Gunn and teammates Evan Hanna, Jordan Hall, Taylor Cooksey and Craig Jones when they travel to Tifton on Monday for the 26th Blue Devil Invitational.

Hall had a 76 on Saturday. Hanna carded a 77, while Cooksey and Jones each had an 86.

The Packers and Blue Devils appear to be the top two teams in Region 1-AAAAA and would like to make a statement before the April 24 region tournament, which will be held at Sunset Country Club.

Tift County has won two tournaments, finished second once and third twice this season.

The Blue Devil Invitational will include two teams from Tift County, plus Colquitt County, Ware County, Warner Robins, Valdosa, Houston County, Coffee, Columbus, Lowndes, Bainbridge, Northside-Warner Robins, Cook, Berrien, Pierce County and Lee County.

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