Hole- in- one helps push Nourse to sectionals

Cazenovia golfer Trevor Nourse's hole- in- one on May 17 helped qualify him for the Class B tournament where the freshman kept rolling to reach the state qualifier.

HAMILTON >> After Trevor Nourse used his pitching wedge to hit the ball on the par- 3 hole No. 5 at Pine Grove, he knew it went near the green -- he just didn’t know where.

Nourse and his group consisting of golfers from Marcellus and Solvay looked around for roughly five minutes until one of them suggested just taking a look in the cup. There it was. “I couldn’t believe it,” said the Cazenovia freshman, whose team won the match with a combined score of 190. “It was pretty cool.”

It was Nourse’s first ever hole- in- one as he finished the May 17 match with a score of 38, extending his season by qualifying him the Class B tournament at Kanon Valley on May 20 with the help of that hole- in- one and overall score.

And it gave Nourse momentum heading into Kanon Valley and he took advantage, shooting an 84 to advance him to the Section III championships at Seven Oaks in Hamilton last Thursday, another first.

Cazenovia head coach Tom Murlin said Nourse’s short game has always been his strong suite, but toward the end of the season he saw him become more consistent with his shot and his long game. Murlin said that consistency allowed him to beat the lengthy course at Kanon Valley.

Nourse said it had just as much to do with a bit of luck, too.

“I was a little surprised I shot an 84 and qualified,” said Nourse. “I focused on hitting the ball well and eliminating my little mistakes. Like the hole- in- one I think I got a little lucky, too.”

But Nourse said his luck ran out on day one of the Section III championships. He shot 102 and missed the chance to move on to the final day.

“It was tough out there,” said Nourse. “I put the driver in the bag but was just shanking a lot of shots.

“Still it was fun to be out here my freshman season.”

Murlin said he doesn’t expect it to be Nourse’s only trip to the section finals.

“We are going to be leaning on him and a couple of other guys the next few years,” said Murlin. “He’s a good golfer with a lot of potential.”