Heritage, Lafayette golfers earn top five finishes at Lafayette Invitational
An impressive field, including several Division I signees, converged at the Lafayette Golf Course on Saturday for the 2020 Lafayette Rambler Invitational.
Golfers endured cool temperatures and brisk winds most of the day, but it was Alpharetta private school Rivers Academy who was able to navigate the weather and the course as their “A” team posted an excellent round of 295 to win the event.
The Heritage Generals finished second in the 20-team event with a very nice round of 316. The Dalton “A” team was third at 318, followed by Cherokee (320) and host Lafayette (322).
Rivers Academy’s “B” Team would finish sixth at 327, while the rest of the top 10 included Calhoun (329), Coahulla Creek (338), Pickens (342) and Woodstock (344).
Chandler Burns made the All-tournament Team for the Generals with a 76. Matthew Redman also had a 76 for Heritage, but Burns took the final All-tournament spot on a scorecard playoff. An 80 from Robert Lyle and an 84 by Declan Ryan rounded out the Heritage team score. Cain Stover (90) and Carter Bell (100) also played for the Generals.
“We thought 80 would be a good score (with the elements) today, so to have two 76’s is just icing on the cake,” said Heritage coach Brian Dodson. “We’re fortunate at Heritage. We have a lot of golfers that go out there year-round and never put their clubs up, so when it comes time to play, they’re ready.”
Lafayette got a 78 from Riley Grant and a 79 from Tyler Jackson to go with an 82 from Grant Langford and an 83 from Brady Mullaly. Junior Barber (110) and Braden Queen (130) also played for the Ramblers, while Jud Woods (115) and Jackson Brewster (129) played as individuals.
Gordon Lee finished 16th overall with a 387. They were led by a 94 from Ben Richardson, while a 95 from Sam Norton, a 98 from Noah Dockery and a 100 from Weston Beagles rounded out the team score. Andrew Sizemore (110) and Zane Murdock (116) also teed it up for the Trojans, while
Jack Lowery (131) played as an individual.
Ringgold’s Harrison Haupt shot an 85 and Cohen Shattuck carded a 101. However, the Tigers did not have enough golfers qualify for a team score.
Will Morlan was the low medalist with a 3-under-par 69 for Rivers Academy’s “A” team. His teammate, David Ford, on his way to play at the University of North Carolina, shot a 71, while Reed Sweigart shot a 75 to also earn All-tournament honors. Maxwell Ford, a past low medalist at the Lafayette tournament, carded a 72 for Rivers Academy’s “B” team to make the All-tournament team. Ford, who won the Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-star at Windstone in June of 2018, is headed to the University of Georgia and is one of the nation’s top-ranked junior players. The final All-tournament spot went to Steve Kibare of Cherokee with a 72.
The Ramblers began the 2020 season on their own home course last Tuesday afternoon and got a pair of 2-under-par 34’s by Grant and Jackson in a nine-hole match against Gordon Central. Grant Langford had a 37 and Mullally shot a 43, while a 52 by Barber and a 58 by Queen rounded out the scoring.
The Warriors had just three golfers available and were not able to post a team score.
The girls’ match, which consisted of Lafayette, Trion, Gordon Central and Chattooga, had to be shortened to six holes due to darkness.
When play was halted, Maci Johnson was at 3-over-par 26 for the Lady Ramblers, followed by Shelby Whittle (29), Hannah Bowman (34) and Emma Moore (36).
Trion had just two players, who shot a combined score of 79, against the 55 put up by Lafayette’s lowest two scores. Chattooga and Gordon Central both only had one player available and did not count a team score.