RUTHERFERTON, NC - It may have taken a little extra time than originally planned and he had to dodge a short rainstorm, but Boiling Springs junior golfer Andrew Gregory was able to capture the individual championship at the second annual TC Ezell Invitational on Tuesday afternoon.
Gregory finished the day tied at 75 over the original eighteen holes but on the first playoff hole (the tenth hole) came away with a birdie to defeat Mauldin's Jay Wilkins for the medalist honor. He said that his day was kind of an up and down tournament but was glad to come away with the victory. "The round started off good as I made a birdie on the first hole but then it kind of went downhill as I double bogeyed the ninth hole," said Gregory. "I was able to get it back together on the back nine though as I birdied fifteen and sixteen, but it was still an up and down kind of day. On the playoff hole though I had a great drive and wedge shot along with a really straight putt and I was able to get the victory." Gregory likes the momentum he built from this victory along with the lessons he learned from the up and down day he had on the course. "This win gives me some confidence heading into the region tournament next week," said Gregory. "I played pretty decent but I also saw the areas I need to work on and we'll get it done before region play starts up." With the victory Gregory was also named to the All-Tournament team that included fellow Bulldog golfer Walker Ingram (76), Chesnee's Peyton Lawter (78), Gaffney's Ben Smith (76), and Mid-Carolina's Luke Hammond (76). Mauldin also had three players named to the All-Tournament team as Jay Wilkins (75), Glenn Oxner (77), and Alex Franklin (78) all joined the other five golfers on the All-Tournament team. On the team side of the event the Bulldogs came up just short finishing in second place with a score of 315, just four shots behind tournament champion Mauldin who shot a score of 311. The tournament in it's second year of existence had a mixture of talented from all over the state, as it continues to grow with the number of teams and participants. "We had teams from all over the state today from different levels and it was just a nice mix of teams," said Chesnee head coach Andy Pitt, whose team is the host school of the tournament. "We have a lot of room for growth for next year and it was a nice day for golf minus a short rain shower as we got the opportunity to remember the memory of a great man in Mr. Ezell." The tournament marks its second year of being named after former Chesnee principal Tom Ezell, who Pitt says was a big advocate of golf in the community, and funds from the tournament are donated to a scholarship fund in his name, which Pitt says he's glad to be able to contribute to each year. "Mr Ezell was our principal when I first got to Chesnee and after he passed away, I asked his wife Sharon if I could name this tournament after him because he loved the game of golf and she gave me her blessing," said Pitt. "After we named the tournament the TC Ezell Invitational (formerly named the Eagle Invitational) we started selling shirts and hats in the community where all the proceeds go to the scholarship fund which allowed us today to share with her a check of $500 that goes towards that fund. It adds to the scholarship fund and helps guarantee one more kid will have a chance to help pay for school." The host school Chesnee also had a good showing as they came away with a sixth-place finish of the fourteen-team tournament, finishing ahead of all of their fellow 2A schools which Coach Pitt sees as a positive for his team as they continue to get better as the season goes along. They were led by Lawter with a score of 78 and Creighton Rentz who shot a score of 83 on Tuesday. "As a team we're moving in the right direction as we head towards this part of the season," said Pitt. "I was really proud of how Peyton Lawter and Creighton Rentz today as Peyton made the All-Tournament team and Creighton if not for one mistake on the back nine could have been in the 70's himself. Our other guys are also moving in the right direction with the region tournament time bearing down on us." Boiling Springs golf will next take to the course on Tuesday when they travel to the Chester Golf Club to compete in the Region III-5A tournament. Chesnee golf will next play in the Ponderosa Shootout on Thursday before getting ready to play in their region tournament a week from Monday. Other Scores: Softball Chesnee 7 Boiling Springs 5 Girls Soccer Clover 6 Boiling Springs 0 Comments are closed.
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