Patriots settle for 3rd in rain-shortened state tourney
MOBILE -- Mother Nature was unkind to the Homewood High School boys golf team at the state tournament.
Inclement weather robbed the Patriots a chance to move up the Class 6A leaderboard.
The state tournament was held at RTJ Magnolia Grove in Mobile and was originally slated to be a 36-hole event over May 10 and 11. Despite persistent rain on the first day, all golfers were able to complete a full round.
After that day, Homewood sat in third place, just two strokes behind second-place Hartselle. Mountain Brook blitzed the competition as expected, holding a 19-stroke lead after a day of play.
The weather was worse the following day. Heavy rain and thunderstorms entered the area in the late morning, halting the tournament. The course was deemed unplayable for the remainder of the day.
Homewood golfers completed six holes the second day before play was suspended, but would have needed to complete nine for the day’s scores to count toward the total. As a result, the tournament was shortened to an 18-hole event, meaning all scores from the first day would be used to decide the state champions.
The Patriots had overtaken Spanish Fort for second place through six holes, but they had to settle for a third-place finish in 6A after reverting back to the first day’s scores.
Mountain Brook won the 6A title with a score of 284, Spanish Fort earned the runner-up trophy with a 303, Homewood finished at 305 and St. Paul’s scored a 314.
Jack Craddock led Homewood with a round of 75 (4-over par), good enough for seventh overall. Harrison Sims tied for eighth with his 76 (+5) and Joshua Peters tied for 12th with a 77 (+6). Jonathan Peters shot a 79 and Kaman Rouse fired an 80.
Mountain Brook took the top three spots, as Gordon Sargent (68), Evans Gross (69) and Will Feagin (71) stole the show.
The Patriots finished second in the 6A North Sub-State tournament May 3 at Cypress Lakes in Florence. Homewood came in second behind only Mountain Brook, firing a team total of 308. Peters led the way for the Patriots with a 72 (1-over par). Sims shot a 73 (+2), Craddock finished with a 77 (+6), Peters shot an 86 and Rouse fired an 88.
Homewood’s boys qualified for the sub-state tournament with their performance at the section tournament, finishing third. Peters placed in the top five overall with a score of even par.
Homewood girls golf team finished in a tie for second in the Class 6A, Section 4 tournament with a score of 261, qualifying for the sub-state tournament. Aidan Haithcock led the Patriots with a round of 80.
The John Carroll girls team advanced to the state tournament in Class 4A-5A. The Cavaliers finished fourth after posting a score of 273 in the first round of play. Kaitlyn Shields led the team with a round of 80, good for sixth overall. Melanie Harris was 12th, Hailey Garcia placed 16th and Caroline Bonamy finished 18th overall.