RAEFORD – It wasn’t quite the start to the season that the Sandhills Athletic Conference boys golf teams wanted. After last Monday’s season opener was postponed due to rain, the teams came together on Thursday at Bayonet at Puppy Creek in Raeford to a different kind of weather disruption.
Wind gusts as high as 35 m.p.h. made the week one match difficult and frustrating for the young golfers, but the teams managed to complete the 18-hole event to avoid any additional delays.
When the dust settled, Pinecrest High School had easily won the day with a team score of 286. The six Patriot golfers turned in six of the top seven best individual scores. Only Jack Britt’s Spencer Oxendine managed to beat out any of the Pinecrest participants. He finished with a 68 tying Pinecrest’s A.J. Beechler for the match’s top score.
Purnell Swett followed the Patriots with 333 strokes, Jack Britt shot a 346, Scotland hit a 359, Richmond finished in fifth with a 379, host school Hoke County narrowly trailed the Raiders with a 381 and Lumberton ended the day at 476.
Three freshmen and two seniors represented Richmond at the match, with the younger Raiders outplaying their older counterparts.
Freshman Jonathan Rich had the Raiders’ best score, as he shot an 83. Individually, Rich was 11th out of the match’s 40 golfers, and he had the second-best score among the ninth-grade participants, finishing seven strokes behind Pinecrest freshman Colin Dutton (76).
Richmond’ s Jacob Puckett and Carter Richardson, also freshmen, finished with scores of 92 and 98, respectively for the Raiders. Senior Evin Mabe shot a 106 and senior Cordell Nelson rounded out the scoring with a 122.
The next Sandhills Athletic Conference match is scheduled for Monday at Gates Four Golf and Country Club in Fayetteville. Tee off time is scheduled for 2 p.m., but once again, the threat of rain has put the match in jeopardy.
