GOLF: Trinity takes second at region; West, East Laurens match up as regular season winds down

All-region selections Eden Rowe and John Brantley led the way for Trinity’s golf teams, which secured second place on both leaderboards as they hosted the region 6-AA championship tournament last Thursday at Dublin Country Club. 

Rowe shot a 106 to take girls’ low-medalist honors. 

Brantley’s 75 was top score for the Crusader boys, whose total of 325 placed second behind the 295 of region champion David Emanuel. Covenant (371), Robert Toombs (402) and Windsor (409) rounded out the five-team field.  

Jagger George (80), Hayden Bowles (83), Kason Slater (86), Charlie Maffett (87), Cole Johnson (94), Jonathan Rozier (94) and Acie Carter (133) also had quality rounds. 

DEA, whose Ethan Fields had an eye-popping round of 69 to take the boys’ low medal, had three other scorers in the 70s. 

The Crusaders will take on Eatonton’s Harbor Club next week for the GIAA AA state tournament. Meanwhile, last week was a busy one for West Laurens golfers who returned from spring break to start out their next-to-last week of regular season play in Douglas with 18 holes at Coffee High School’s Neil Graham Invitational Monday, April 13. 

The Raider boys, with a team score of 296, took second place overall out of the 19 teams, the hosts scoring 290 for first overall. 

Braceton Beasley shot a 72 to capture fifth overall in the individual standings. Keith Howell’s 74 placed him 10th. Brody Graham and Wade Martin tied for 11th with 75s, and Jake Harden put up a 78 for 23rd. 

West’s boys and girls collected victories over East Laurens in a home match the following afternoon. 

The Lady Raiders won 97-107, with Valley Stewart and Bailey Jean Logan posting nine-hole rounds of 45 and 52 for the top scores. East Laurens’ Madison Necce shot 52, and Abigail Contreras 55. 

The West Laurens boys played a younger flight of golfers, but still prevailed 181-196, with Lane Neal, Lane Fountain and Brody Graham tying for the best nine with rounds of 45. 

Jonathan Aldridge (41) and Brody Owens (49) led the Falcons. 

The Raiders hosted Veterans and Vidalia for a tri-match at Green Acres on Thursday. 

The West Laurens boys defeated both, with a team total of 145 against the Indians’ 163 and the Warhawks’ 172. 

Beasley led all scorers with a 34, Harden carded a 35, Howell shot a 37 and Martin added a 39. Graham and Will Tribble both had 41s. 

The Lady Raiders, with a 95, scored in between Veterans’ 87 and Vidalia’s 98 for a split, with Logan’s 46 and Stewart’s 49 out front on the scoreboard.

West opened its final week in preparation for the area tournament with a sweep of Dodge County, the boys 167-193 and the girls 97-102, this past Monday. 

Neal and Dayten Yarbrough had 38s to lead the boys. Logan’s 46 and Stewart’s 51 were the girls’ top numbers. 

The Raiders rounded out their regular season Tuesday against both Southeast Bulloch and Savannah Christian on the front nine of the Georgia Southern University golf course that will host next Tuesday’s area tournament. 

The boys defeated both with a score of 153 (Savannah Christian had 166 and SEB 184) and the girls fell a bit short of both the Jackets (88) and Red Raiders (107). 

Beasley (35), Graham (38) and Harden (39), each clearing 40 strokes for the boys, along with Stewart (53), Leigh and Aubrie Paul (59 each) had the Raiders’ best performances in some windy conditions.