Brookstone boys second, girls third after first day of state tournaments

With Round 1 of the Class 1A Private Boys and Girls golf tournaments, Brookstone’s teams remain in the thick of the title hunt.

The Brookstone boys team end up in second place after the first 18 holes of action at Green Island Country Club, nine strokes behind First Presbyterian Day. The Brookstone girls, meanwhile, sit in third in their tournament, seven strokes behind Wesleyan.

“We did a lot of good stuff and a lot of not good stuff,” Brookstone boys head coach Hunter Chapman said of his team. “Walker Hinds shot 71 and birdied two of his last three. Evans Copeland shot 1-over and was steady. William Reaves played pretty well for the most part. We had a couple other guys who had some bad holes, and we got bit pretty hard by that. All in all, it was not the team score we were looking for.”

Hinds’ hot end to the day helped him finish with the team’s lowest score. Copeland came next with a 72, followed by William Reaves at 76. Frank Waldrep carded a 79 for the fourth and final score for Brookstone. Charles Waldrep’s 81 and Pepper Miller’s 88 were the drop scores for the Cougars.

The Lady Cougars dealt with a delay of about an hour due to weather but didn’t let that hinder their play. Sanders Hinds shot the lowest score for Brookstone, ending the afternoon with an 83. Sa Copeland had the only other score that counted for the Lady Cougars, carding a 92. Uma Alappan ended the first round with a 103, and Lillie Peek shot a 119.

“I was very pleased with their play,” Brookstone girls coach Karen Hearn said. “They were putting well and chipping on the greens well. A lot of things were working for them today.”

At any previous state tournament, the disappointing day would have left the Cougars with a second-place finish. The new setup with a two-day tournament, however, gives the Cougars a shot at answering with a better performance come Tuesday.

“At nine strokes back, we’re within striking distance for sure,” Chapman said. “It’s really nice to know we have a chance to come out tomorrow and still win. We’re not out of this by any means, and I think the guys are really excited about that.”

Hearn pointed out that her golfers’ familiarity with their home course could prove to be a major advantage as they try to stage a comeback in the second day of play.

“I think they know this course, and they know of some places where they can shave some strokes. I think they’re looking forward to coming back and seeing if they can improve,” Hearn said. “I am super, super proud of them and how they handled themselves. They took advantage of all those chances.”

Chapman said the key for several of his players is to let Monday’s mistakes fall to the wayside and instead gear up for something better in the second round. Brookstone has proven itself capable on the big stage before, and given what Chapman knows about each player, he said he’s confident they can figure things out.

“We don’t know what the magic number is that we’d have to shoot to win, but we just know we don’t have to have a dream day (to win),” Chapman said. “We just have to have everybody play well and have everyone play the way they’re capable of playing. I believe top to bottom, we have a really deep team. I have a lot of faith in them.”

Play is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday.

Top 5 boys standings

First Presbyterian Day - 289; Brookstone - 298; Mt. Paran Christian - 302; Holy Innocents’ - 306; Athens Academy - 308

Top 5 girls standings

Wesleyan - 168; Darlington - 171; Brookstone - 175; Holy Innocents’ - 180; Stratford Academy - 185

This story was originally published May 22, 2017 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Brookstone boys second, girls third after first day of state tournaments."