Last year’s No. 1 golfer for Bloomington South, Nick Bellush, torched Cascades Golf Course for six birdies and a sectional record 66 as the Panthers posted a post-season record team score of 283.
Bellush was back 363 days later, only as a spectator this time after his freshman season with Purdue-Fort Wayne and he watched the Panthers amazingly do even better.
He had a déjà vu moment as this year’s No. 1, Happy Gilmore, also earned medalist honors with a 5-under 66 to lead South to an even better 278 to win this year’s sectional title, the 10th in a row for the Panthers.
South’s top four were a combined 6-under as Luke Garrett had a career day with a 69, Colton Watson a 71 and Connor Byon a 72. Brownstown Central nabbed second with a 309 and Bloomington North’s foursome posted a season best 315 to distance themselves from the field and earn spots in Thursday’s Washington Regional at Country Oaks.
Bedford North Lawrence was fourth (332) but had two individuals move on in Tyler Bellush (78) and Coleson Stiles (80). Edgewood was fifth at 356 and Owen Valley was ninth (392). The final qualifier was Clay Auston of Brown County with a 78.
“Everybody played great,” South coach Dustin Carver said. “I think they had a mindset going into today to try and break the record. We don’t ever talk about that, but they said, ‘Let’s go ahead and do it.’
“They have a mindset of playing aggressive out here and I’m OK with that because there are a lot of gettable holes. Super pleased. I love where their games are. Love where their heads are 1 through 5 and super proud of that 278. Pretty special to go out and do something great.”
It’s only Gilmore’s second best round at Cascades this year, having shot 61 in a dual match, but in much different conditions.
“I try not to think about the 61 because it’s a completely different golf course today,” Gilmore said. “The greens have recovered from aeration, they’re firmer, they’re faster. The balls traveling a little bit farther.
“But going low, you try not to expect it but it’s kind of in your mind you can do it. I just tried to take it one shot at a time and I did pretty well with that. I just got off to a slow start ball-striking. The front nine, I wasn’t really hitting it where I was aiming, they just weren’t bad. So I just made it work.”
Garrett shot well enough last year to make it out as an individual with Edgewood but was on fire this time with four birdies on the back to close with a 34.
“It was probably one of the craziest rounds I’ve ever had,” Garrett said. “Definitely the most exciting finish. I got up and down for par from 205 yards on the last hole (after a wayward drive) and made six birdies today, so just one hiccup, made a double on 11. But I feel like I played very well overall.”
Watson finished with one of the three birdies South recorded on the 18th after sinking a 15-footer.
“It’s up there,” Watson said. “I’ve shot 65 a few times, but not in tournaments though. I hit a lot of good iron shots but I missed a lot of short putts. First couple holes I had some short birdie putts that could have dropped but you can’t make them all. But I played pretty well.”
South went 1-2-4-6 in the individual standings with Carson Gady shooting 81.
North needs all 4 to score
From work obligations to family vacations, the Cougars had just four golfers available, so each one teed off on No. 1 knowing every shot would count.
“It was going to go one of two ways,” North coach Harrison Carmichael said. “The pressure of knowing undoubtedly that your score was going to count was either going to make people crack or they were going to rise to the occasion.”
Grant McCrea came up with a strong 71 and Hogan Conder added a 78, but the Cougars’ hopes also rested on a sophomore and freshman feeling that kind of pressure for the first time. Rex Speer and Alec Freund both hung in to post 83s and keep North’s postseason alive.
“I’ve said all year my team, we’re fighters,” Carmichael said. “I’ve never seen one of them quit on a shot or a round so I thought that this would really, it’s not by design, but it was the situation they were put in and so they all rose to the occasion.
“Very, very proud of Grant. His last few rounds the past two or three weeks he’s really proven to himself that he’s got it in him. Hogan’s coming around and I think Rex and Alec, it could have gone south quick. Four or five holes it was looking like we were going to slide all day long and they didn’t. They put it back together and made this thing happen.”
McCrea had a great finish to a great round, holing out from 60 yards for an eagle on the 18th
“Best of this year,” McCrea said. “It felt great. The final hole, that was awesome. Felt great with family and friends watching.
“I started out pretty rough. I was 3-over through five. Birdies here and there and finish off with an eagle. It’s just staying focused.”
Edgewood, OV shut out
Edgewood played close to its season long averages as its top three, Carter Cheaney, Calvin McDonald and Zayne Dwigans, each had 88s. Mitch Deckard’s 92 rounded out the effort. Cheaney had a 46 and McDonald a 47 on the Pine then came back with a 41 and 42 respectively. Dwigans had 44s on each half.
“We’ve been hovering around 360 about all year,” Lee said. “I kind of felt maybe today, since we’ve been out here playing pretty much every day and working on stuff. We had a really good practice Thursday. Friday we played the same 18 and played decent.
“It’s just a lot of little nuances to golf that a lot of them are new to. Zayne, this is his first year playing. It’s literally the first year period for Hank (Ripley). They’re a little disappointed but I didn’t see us coming in at anything under 340.”
Jake Cunningham and Connor Deckard were the only OV golfers who played in last year’s sectional and the Patriots ended a tough rebuilding season. Evan Bryant led the way with a 96, while senior Kyvan Bandy had a 98 while Cunningham and Tim Hardin each had 99s.
Eastern Greene at Hulman Links
Eastern Greene placed seventh with a 395 as Terre Haute North (333), Terre Haute South (338) and Northview (345) took the top spots with Shakamak fourth (347).
Roman Valentine had a 91 and Korbin Ikerd a 92 to lead the T-Birds while Logan Russell and Nate Myers each had 106s and Ben Allgood had a 121.
Northview’s Lane Notter won medalist honors with a 72 to win by six shots over Connor Bishop of THN. The individual qualifiers were Shakamak’s Mason Barton (84), Blaise Newton (86) and Logan Laswell of Clay City (88), who won a three-way playoff over White River Valley’s Jake Antibus and Shakamak’s Wyatt Barcus.
BLOOMINGTON NORTH SECTIONAL
Team scores (top 3 advance): 1. Bloomington South 278; 2. Brownstown Central 309; 3. Bloomington North 315; 4. Bedford North Lawrence 332; 5. Edgewood 356; 6. West Washington 360; 7. Brown County 362; 8. Seymour 369; 9. Owen Valley 392; 10. Mitchell 426; 11. Trinity Lutheran 441.
Top 10 individuals: 1. Happy Gilmore, BS 66; 2. Luke Garrett, BS 69; 3. Micah Sheffer, BrwtnC 70; T4. Colton Watson BS 71; Grant McCrea, BN 71; 6. Connor Byon, BS 72; 7. Caiden Gwin, BrwtnC 73; T8. Hogan Conder BN 78; *Tyler Bellush, BNL 78; *Clay Austin, BrwnCo, 78. Individual qualifiers: Bellush, Austin, Coleson Stiles, BNL 80.
Other Bloomington South: Carson Gady 81. Other Bloomington North: Rex Speer 83, Alec Freund 83. Edgewood: Carter Cheaney 88, Calvin McDonald 88, Zayne Dwigans 88, Mitch Deckard 92; Hank Ripley 96. Owen Valley: Evan Bryant 96, Kyvan Bandy 98, Jake Cunningham 99, Tim Hardin 99, Connor Deckard 103. Other BNL: Parker Foddrill 86, Dillon Lewis 88, Drew McKee 89.