Taking first and winning the MHSAA District Tournament at Bald Mountain Golf Club in Lake Orion on May 21 ‘was a surprise to everybody, but us,? said Oxford Varsity Golf Coach Terry Kelley.
After 18 holes, the boys were tied with Rochester High at 302 points. It came down to a 5th-man-tiebreaker.
‘That means when your four initial scorers are tied after 18 holes, then you go to your fifth man’s score (to determine the winner), Kelley said. ‘Eric Curtis has been a good solid fifth man for us all year and he was solid for us on Wednesday as well.?
Medal winner Doug Schultz swung the low of the day with 73, followed by Matt Prince with 74, Rollie Giberson, 76, J.J. Lewis, 79 and Curtis, 82.
‘Our normal low-scorer, our captain and leader (J.J. Lewis) was our high-scorer out of the first four guys,? Kelley added. ‘That meant, of course, the bulk of your team had to play well to win and they did.?
In the tournament, Clarkston finished third with 303 and Grand Blanc rounded out the top four with 304.
‘As a coach, I could see that throughout the day ? some of the teams leading players were not playing real well. I was optimistic that we would make the cut and go on to the regionals,? Kelley continued. ‘It was a real pleasant surprise to see us tied for the lead and then to win the tie-breaker was a real bonus.?
After having taken second in the second league tournament of the year, earlier in the week, Kelley was glad that his boys came back to play up to their potential during districts.
‘They shot the kind of round that I’ve believed all year long that they were capable of shooting,? he said. ‘And they put it together at a good time and we beat some good teams.?
Regionals will definitely give his boys a challenge as they will have to once again face off against the same five teams that qualified with them in districts ? Rochester, Clarkston, Bloomfield, Fenton and Grand Blanc.
‘Those are all teams that are capable of shooting really fine scores. Then there will be six coming in from another region that had probably not as hard of a region as ours to get out of, but have some teams in it that are capable of going real well,? Kelley said. ‘It will be a struggle to be in the top three, which you have to do at the regionals in order to go to states, but my boys are looking forward to the challenge.?