Cape golf team carries win streak into spring break
April 14, 2006
Cape Henlopen High School’s Viking golf team continued to add to its winning record after its opening match loss to the Caesar Rodney Riders, as they finished up the first part of their 2006 season with a pair of victories.
The squad begins its spring break this week, and returns to competition on April 26 with a match against the Milford Buccaneers at Shawnee Country Club.
It will be familiar territory. They played at Shawnee on April 6, beating Lake Forest 175-205.
Jason Hastings led all scorers with a 41. “I played well, but I had some trouble on the greens. I three-putted from four feet on [the par-3] 4th hole. I had a birdie on [No.] 2 [a par-5].”
If the hole was in the front portion of the 4th green, many Cape Region golfers could certainly understand how a three-putt could happen. It’s steeply sloped, and a short putt from one side can easily double in length for the come-backer if you’re not careful.
Andrew Parsell contributed with a 43, one of his better efforts of the season. “I started off good, and then I couldn’t make a par. I couldn’t chip. I had a couple long 2-putts for bogeys,” he said.
Travis Parker also scored a 43, still a few shots above his expectations. “I had three pars. On the 6th hole I had a plugged ball in one of the bunkers. That was a double. But I’m getting closer to my average,” he smiled.
Eric Sadowski shot a 48 in his first competitive round for the season. “I played the first hole terrible, and then I made a bunch of bogeys. I also had a triple on [No.] 5. But overall, I felt really good.”
Alex Hatter was far less pleased with his 48. “I couldn’t hit the ball. I putted okay, but I couldn’t keep my irons straight. I made a 30-foot putt for par on the 9th hole. I hit into the bunker, came out, and then made that putt.”
Sam Purple couldn’t hide her disappointment with her 50. “I blew up on the 7th and 8th holes. It wasn’t a fun round.”
The team then traveled to Seaford Country Club for an April 11 match with the Laurel Bulldogs, and won with a slightly improved team score of 171-207.
This time, Parker took medalist honors with a four-over-par 40. He was pretty pleased with his performance. “The course was in pretty good shape. I had five pars and the rest were bogeys. I went two over on the last two holes, because I started thinking about shooting two over par for the round, and then messed up. I’ve got to work on not thinking ahead, and just play the shot. But it was a good way to end before the break,” he said.
Hastings finished a shot behind with a 41. “I had 5 bogeys and the rest were pars. The rough was clumpy, but the course was fair. My putting was good but my chipping was off.”
Hatter felt better about his round, a third-best 44. “I played pretty well until the last hole. I had a 6 on my first hole, and a 7 on the last. I also had 3 bogeys and 4 pars. The last green was really fast—I three-putted it. Actually, all of the greens were a lot faster than I thought they would be. I three-putted the second and third holes for bogeys.”
Purple improved with a 46, good for fourth-best among the Vikings. “I had two pars and 4 bogeys. I also had three doubles, which kinda sucked, but what can you do. At least I had no skulled shots across the green with my 60-degree wedge.”
The Vikings’ record is being noticed. They are currently ranked 10th in the state, but as Coach Claudio Smarelli commented, they’re going to have to improve their team scoring average if they expect to do well in the state championship.