FOXFIRE VILLAGE — Keeping pace with its previous three performances this season, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ golf team recorded another second-place finish Monday.
Back from spring break, the Raiders hosted their lone home conference match of the season at Foxfire Resort and Golf. Richmond faced the other Mid-South Conference opponents in its first 18-hole match of the season.
Ahead of the round, Richmond’s two senior golfers – Kevin Cosey and Tyler McKenzie – were recognized for senior day. Cosey has been a four-year golfer and McKenzie joined the program as a junior.
Playing the familiar front and back nines of Foxfire, the Raiders’ top four golfers combined to shoot a team score of 328 (+40).
Qualifying in the top four for the Raiders were Cosey (78, +6), and juniors CJ Turner (82, +10), Graham Odom (84, +12) and Grayson Robson (84, +12). As the team’s leader, Cosey finished seventh in the field.
Current conference leader Pinecrest High School won the match with a score of 284, which was four shots under par.
“Today had a lot of ups and downs,” head coach Chris Turner said. “Today was a fight for energy, it seemed. The first five or six holes my guys were pushing too hard and that’s where most of our bad shots happened. The greens seemed to be rolling a lot faster than usual today.
“We recognized Tyler and Kevin prior to the round with a personalized senior hat, golf towel and ball marker for senior day,” he added. “Being it was our first and only home match, we allowed our other golfers to play as well. It was good to see our entire team participate.”
Richmond’s other two golfers in the starting lineup were McKenzie and sophomore Drake Wallace. McKenzie finished his round with a 90 (+18) and Wallace shot a 94 (+22).
Also on the course Monday were five other Raiders, all of whom played an exhibition round – juniors Eric Legrand and Max Wiggins, sophomore Owen Whitley and freshmen Aston Butcher and Trent Woody.
Coach Turner shared that CJ Turner had “three triple bogeys, five birdies, and lots of bad shots that caused drops.” On the final three holes, Turner birdied all three to lower his score to a 40 on the back nine.
“Kevin led the day with a 78, and if he cleans up the putting, he could have shot around a 73 easily,” Turner said. “Grayson and Graham grinded all day to come in with an 84.”
Turner also said a “slow start” by several golfers on the front nine put the Raiders behind, causing them to play catch-up after the turn.
Finishing third overall in the match was Jack Britt High School (346), followed by Overhills High School (377). Hoke County and Pine Forest high schools both competed, but didn’t have the necessary four golfers to qualify for the team score.
“Hopefully (Tuesday) we can learn to clean it up a little more,” Turner said. “If we can all show up, focus on our own individual games, I’m telling you we can do some crazy things to finish up the year. We have the talent. We have got to find the confidence.”
The Raiders will compete in an 18-hole non-conference match Tuesday against Anson High School and former Richmond golf coach Keith Parsons.
The match will be held at Foxfire and begin at 2 p.m. Turner said “It will be fun to have Coach Parsons see the guys again.”
