AHS boys golf struggles, girls lurking at state tournament

By OANow Staff

Published: May 12, 2008

MUSCLE SHOALS — The Auburn High boys golf team’s chances of a five-peat took a hit Monday in the first round of the AHSAA Class 6A state golf tournament at the Fighting Joe Course on The Shoals — a Robert Trent Jones Trail property.

However, the Auburn girls are in the mix to bring home their first title, shooting a 249 to enter today’s final round in second place, six shots behind Central-Phenix City.

The Auburn boys, winners of the past four state championships, shot a team score of 346 — 58-over par — Monday to put them in last place after the first day of the two-day, six-team tournament, 50 shots behind first-place Spain Park (296).

“It got going the wrong way, and I think we started pressing too much to try and get it back,” Auburn head boys coach Duke Smith said. “And that’s a bad thing to do in golf. You need to relax and play your game. And we kind of got out of that mode.”

Leading the way for the Auburn boys was Alex Barnes, who shot an 82. Scott Strohmeyer fired an 86, Gabriel Wang turned in an 88 and Carl Langlois carded a 90. Johnny Mann, whose score did not count toward the team standings, carded a 92.

“It just wasn’t very good,” Smith said. “We all played bad at the same time. We had scores I never would have expected.

“The kids are disappointed. But they tried hard. There’s no give-up in them. We just talked about pride and not giving up. We’ll be OK. We’ll come out (today) and do the best we can.”

Mountain Brook is in second (302), Huntsville’s in third (318), Fairhope is fourth (324) and McGill-Toolen is fifth (334).

Mountain Brook’s Tom Lovelady is the individual leader, turning in a score of 3-under par 69 — four shots better than four other golfers tied for second at 73.

Opelika’s James Sarquiz shot an 88 as an individual and is tied for 31st.

Beulah’s Jacob Harper, who is also playing as an individual, is tied for ninth in the Class 3A tournament after his first-round 77.

The Auburn girls are currently in second in the six-team division with a score of 249 on the Schoolmaster Course.

Central is in first place after Day 1 thanks to impressive rounds by Haley Wilson (70) and Alex Harrell (79). The 2-under par shot by Wilson, an Auburn University commitment, paces the 6A girls’ field.

The Red Devils shot a team score of 243 — six shots better than second place Auburn. The Tigers are two strokes better than third place Prattville (251).

Behind Wilson and Harrell, Lena Lemieux shot a 94 for Central.

Auburn was led by Jennifer Commander’s 79, which is good for a tie for fifth after the first round. Coleman Humphrey shot an 84, Jessica Roulliard carded an 86 and Kendall Trupp shot a 91. Only the top three scores are counted.

“Being a few shots back after Day 1 isn’t a bad position to be in at all,” AHS girls coach Mike Glisson said. “I think we played good. We could have played better, and (today) I think we will.

“Central just shot a round that was pretty incredible. We shot about what our average is. We’ve just got to try to shoot that again or a little bit better and see where we all stand at the end.”