Columbus boys golf takes second, Brookstone third at The Invite

Two Muscogee County teams shined in the The Invite golf tournament in Gainesville over the weekend.

The Columbus boys golf team took home second, while Brookstone finished third in the two-day tournament held at Chattahoochee Golf Club. The Blue Devils added another solid showing to their resume, while Brookstone put together arguably its best outing of the season.

Lee-Scott won the tournament with a two-day score of 567, 21 strokes ahead of the Blue Devils. Lee-Scott used a 12-under-par team effort Saturday to get the win over Columbus, which entered the second day with a slim one-stroke lead.

“We played OK,” Columbus head coach Chris Parker said. “We knew with Lee-Scott, they’ve got two of like the top 30 players (Turk Petit, Davis Thompson) in the country. We knew we’d have to play better than OK against them, and of course they got hot (in the second round).”

Columbus posted a first round of score of 290 before shooting 298 in the final round.

Nolan Miller extended his string of strong tournaments, shooting a team-low 144 in the tournament, including a team-best round of 71 Friday. Ben Carr was close behind, carding a 145 after rounds of 72 and 73. John Calhoun’s 72 and 76 left him at 148, while Jonathan Parker’s 75 and 76 gave him a 151.

Rudy Pearson and John John Runyon had their scores from both days dropped. Pearson shot a 77 and 83, while Runyon recorded an 80 and a 79.

Brookstone, meanwhile, finished five strokes off Columbus. The outing proved a positive one to Brookstone head coach Hunter Chapman, as The Invite’s course and touted eight-team field proved far from overwhelming for his golfers.

“It was a fun weekend for sure,” Chapman said. “It’s a really competitive tournament and a fun course to play. To have two days under 300 and a couple of guys go pretty low was definitely fun. It was fun to be in contention.”

Brookstone found itself in the thick of contention Friday after shooting 294 as a team. The standout day was highlighted by freshman Charles Waldrep’s 70, the lowest round by a Cougar this season.

Waldrep followed with a 77 in the second round.

“He’s had a really solid, steady season, but it was fun to see him have a breakout day,” Chapman said.

Evans Copeland posted the best two-day score for the Cougars, finishing with 73 and 71. Waldrep’s 147 left him tied for second on the team with Walker Hinds, who shot a 73 and a 74. William Reaves and Pepper Miller carded 157s, and Frank Waldrep posted a 164.

Miller had his first day scores dropped, while Reaves’ second round was not counted. Frank Waldrep had his scores of 85 and 79 dropped.

With another competitive tournament in the books, Columbus and Brookstone begin preparation for what’s next.

“We’ve got three more events: the area (tournament), another two-day tournament and then state,” Parker said. “Hopefully, we’re getting valuable experience and learning lessons that will help us down the road.”

Brookstone’s area run comes earlier, as the Cougars play that tournament on Tuesday. Based on the play at The Invite, Chapman said he likes the direction his team is taking.

“It does feel good to have had our best week right before area,” Chapman said. “We still have a lot to improve on. We’re going to try and get it dialed in.”

This story was originally published April 23, 2017 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Columbus boys golf takes second, Brookstone third at The Invite."