North leads Ryder Cup-style event

uesday, September 23, 2008

With a week to go before the annual Kentucky high school regional golf tournaments begin, the boys’ teams from Hopkins County Central and Madisonville-North Hopkins met Monday evening at Lakeshore Country Club to engage in the first of a two-day friendly rivalry, Ryder Cup-style event.

The teams played two-man best ball and North finished the day with three points to Central’s zero. Central did not come away with any points Monday, but six points will be up for grabs today when the two teams face-off in individual match play at Central’s home course, Madisonville Golf and Country Club.

Although the regional tournament looms on the horizon, presenting a reason for the boys to stress, the two-day tournament gives both teams an opportunity to let loose.

“It’s gives them a chance just to relax and have fun,” North coach Dan Herrmann said. “Everybody wants to win, but we’re cutting up and having fun. We’ve done this for at least four years that I know of. They all just get to enjoy it. It’s not a high-pressure situation.”

The relaxed atmosphere was abundantly evident as a crowd gathered to watch the final pairs, North’s Christian Dukes and Ben Gatlin against Central’s Landon Griffith and Andrew Schniepp, and joked back and forth the entire way to the pin.

The ribbing began when Dukes’ final drive found a puddle in the middle of the fairway. The puddle constituted “casual water” and a free drop, but not completely sure of the rules, Dukes consulted the crowd for advice.

Most were quick to explain the ruling, but a few responses came back, “play it as it lies.”

Then, Dukes asked for help on how to make an appropriate drop. As the gathering attempted to explain the procedure Dukes explained his situation and bantered with those watching before North’s Patrick Hibbs finally abandoned his golf cart to show Dukes where to make the drop.

On the right side of the hole, off the fairway, Gatlin found himself behind a row of large trees. Gatlin was forced to punch out into the fairway, fighting the urge to test his club’s loft against the trees.

Gatlin successfully made his way into the fairway, but when Herrmann caught up to him the pair joked about trying to lift the trees and Gatlin said, “I had a shot,” with a smile.

By the time the group made its way to the ninth green, the jokes were flying.

Once at the green, Schniepp, holding the pin far away from the hole, asked the North golfers, “You want me to tend it?” with both golfers within manageable putting distance.

Both teams gave each other a hard time about “gimme putts,” led by Schniepp.

When Gatlin had a short putt, less than five feet, he said “You’re not going to give me that?” to the Central pair.

Gatlin sized it up, jokingly saying it was a “tough putt,” but “I need to two-putt to win.”

Without a pause, Herrmann laughed and said, “Every putt you have is a tough putt.”

Gatlin approached the ball and tapped toward the cup, but missed and as he did the crowd laughed at his previous remark about the shot.

With his next putt, Gatlin found the bottom of the cup, however, and gave North its third point of the day.

After the round and all jokes were put aside, Central coach Daniel Kukahiko said it’s nice to relax with before the pressures of a regional tournament

“It’s serious golf, but it’s also a lot of fun too,” he said. “You play match play where as in the season you play stroke play. Match play gives them a chance to do something a little bit different.

“Of course out here everybody knows everybody, so it makes it that much more exciting like there on the last green where they were giving each other a hard time and it makes it real exciting. It’s a good way to wrap up your season before the regional tournament.”

The two schools will wrap up their Ryder Cup event beginning 4 p.m. today at Madisonville Golf and Country Club.

Monday’s results

Patrick Hibbs, Daniel Stewart def. Collin Farmer, Heath Williams 2-1

Cliff Carter, David Rose def. Blake Nelson, Joey Watkins 4-3

Christian Dukes, Ben Gatlin def. Landon Griffith, Andrew Schniepp 1 up