Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 23, 1995 TAG: 9508230077
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sixteen area high school golfers among the record-field of 64 shot 80 or better.
But by the leaders' standards, the scores could and should have been lower.
Northside teammates Justin Young (a senior) and Jacob Jarrett (a junior) shared the first-day lead with 73s. One stroke back are Patrick Henry freshman Ryan Patterson and North Cross senior Brian Whitaker.
A steady breeze and challenging pin placements were expected to push scores skyward. But most of the contenders accepted the conditions and simply faulted the shotmaking.
Young opened with a birdie, and was under par until he four-putted No.5, a 166-yard par 3. ``And then, I was especially shaky on the back nine,'' he said.
Jarrett only needed to par 17 and 18 to shoot 71, but he suffered bogeys on the relatively easy last two holes. ``I three-putted them both,'' he said. ``I was pretty nervous.''
Whitaker ``was aiming for the high 60s'' before double bogeys on 7 and 8 slowed him down, and Patterson said his putter betrayed him on the front side.
``I had trouble adjusting to the greens,'' Patterson said. "I was ramming putts past the hole."
Defending champion Northside (301) took a commanding 16-stroke lead over Cave Spring and Franklin County in the team competition. North Cross is in fourth place at 321.
Eleven area high schools are competing for the team prize. Team scores are determined by adding the four lowest individual scores among each school's six entrants.
The tournament is named after the late Bob McLelland, longtime sports editor of the Roanoke World-News and a member of the Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame.
Today's final round will begin at 1 p.m. at Countryside. The last foursome should tee off by 3.
Northside is very familiar with the course as it plays its home matches there. "The greens are a little slower there," Jarrett said. "Most of these golfers don't know that."
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
by CNB