Columbus boys golf wins Blue Devil Invitational

The Columbus boys golf team may not have been the hosts of the Blue Devil Invitational in Tifton, but the golfers still took control like they were playing their home course.

Columbus won the Blue Devil Invitational on Tuesday, posting a overall team score of 292. Jonathan Parker turned out another commendable showing, shooting a tournament-low 67 on the day. John Calhoun shot a 73, while Ben Carr and Nolan Miller shot 76s.

Rudy Pearson and John John Runyon also competed for the Blue Devils but ultimately had their scores dropped. Both players shot 78 on the day.

The Blue Devils beat second-place Colquitt County by 14 strokes. Houston County finished one stroke behind Colquitt for third with a team score of 307.

Columbus head coach Chris Parker saw the victory as another step in the right direction as the Blue Devils’ season goes along.

“We had the one really good score and had another sophomore (Calhoun) shoot 73 that was a big help to us,” Parker said. “We’re still trying to get everybody going at the same time, but we’re working our way into it, it looks like. We’re getting closer and closer to where we want to be.”

Harris County also competed in the tournament. The team ended up fourth with a team score of 311. Kason Partridge posted the lowest score for Harris County, shooting a 73 on the day. Raines Edenfield’s 77, Warren Gallatin’s 79 and Garrett Smith’s 82 were the other three scores that counted for the Tigers.

The victory for Columbus stands as another strong team performance this season. In Parker’s eyes, the win can be pivotal as the team continues through the regular season and aims to repeat as state champions.

“It will hopefully build some momentum,” Parker said. “We know some of our veteran players didn’t play as well as their capable, although they played OK. It sets the standard of where we want to be every time we tee it up.”

The Blue Devils face another test in their next tournament, the two-day Hardaway Invitational at Bull Creek Golf Club in Midland. With a field featuring 25 teams and over 150 golfers from Georgia and Alabama, Parker said he believes this will be a chance to really gauge where his team stacks up among the top teams in both states.

“Teams from all over the Southeast know about this tournament,” Parker said. “It’s very deserving of a lot of (attention) from all aspects.”

A practice round for the Hardaway Invitational is slated to start Thursday with the first round beginning on Friday. The local teams playing the tournament such as Columbus will begin play in the afternoon in the second of two waves of teams.

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Columbus boys golf wins Blue Devil Invitational."