Published: June 08, 2009 10:41 pm      

BOYS' GOLF: Highlanders make it seven straight sectionals

Providence's Pfund wins medalist honors

FLOYDS KNOBS — The Providence boys’ golf team had the best individual at Monday’s Floyd Central Sectional at Valley View Golf Club.

But the host Highlanders grabbed the honor for having the No. 1 team again.

Floyd shot a team score of 297 on its home course to win its seventh consecutive sectional championship. The Pioneers finished second with a 302, followed by North Harrison in third with a 316. The top three teams advanced to Friday’s Seymour Regional at Shadowood Golf Course, starting at 8 a.m.

For Floyd coach Mike Cason, it was his eighth sectional title in his nine seasons at the Highlanders’ helm.

“It’s quite an accomplishment to win that many in a row,” Cason said. “You’ve got to be proud of the kids for the work they put in to accomplish this.”

Providence senior Trey Pfund achieved a first in his prep career on Monday — winning sectional medalist honors. Pfund fired an even-par 71, making two birdies and two bogeys.

“For me to win sectional, that was my goal as an individual,” Pfund said. “I really didn’t hit the ball extremely bad, but I wasn’t hitting the ball great. Mentally, I was able to get up and down a lot from wherever the ball was. My putting and chipping were really good today.”

All five Floyd players shot in the 70s. The Highlanders’ David Frank finished in a tie for second in the individual standings with Silver Creek’s Brandon White with a 72. Floyd’s Jared Sturgeon carded a 73, while teammate Jay Holderman fired a 74. Also for the Highlanders, Chase Cadle posted a 78 and Brad Baumann shot a 79.

“The kids played good,” Cason said. “You always want all of them in the 70s, just in case you have to have a fifth-man tiebreaker. The kids have been playing really good lately. We won a tournament in Bedford on Tuesday of last week, so that was good. And we won the (Hoosier Hills) conference a couple of weeks ago, so they’ve been really steeping up and playing a lot better.”

While 19th-ranked Floyd went home happy, No. 15 Providence left Valley View very disappointed. The Pioneers fell short of winning their first sectional crown since 1998.

Joining Pfund in the Providence scoring were Ben Rose with a 74, Robert Spiller with a 75 and Hunter Anderson with an 82.

“(Winning medalist) means a lot. But to me, our team is the most important,” Pfund said. “As they say, there is no ‘I’ in team.”

Pioneers coach Dave Lobeck said it is always a challenge to win the sectional on Floyd’s home course.

“They go around in this place so many times that it’s their private merry-go-round. That’s a 10-shot advantage for those guys. But they played well and we came close,” Lobeck said. “It was our goal to win. We really wanted to come in and win one here. But it’s on to regional now and it’s more of a neutral-playing field for everybody. We’ll see what happens.”

White and Jeffersonville senior Matt Thompson both earned return trips to regional as individuals, as they qualified for Seymour by placing in the top three on non-advancing teams.

White shot a 2-under-par 34 on the backside to post his 72. The senior made four birdies, including three on the back nine.

Thompson fired a 3-over 74 to place fifth in the individual standings. He had three birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey along with paring the last three holes.

New Albany placed fourth with a 324, followed by Jeff in sixth with a 342. Silver Creek was seventh with a 354 and Henryville finished 10th with a 361. Borden wound up 11th with a 400, followed by New Washington in 13th with a 419 and Clarksville in 14th with a 434. Charlestown and Christian Academy of Indiana both fielded incomplete teams.

Stephen Kraft led the Bulldogs with a 79, while teammates Brian Keeler and Corey Embry each shot an 81. Tony Holloway posted the Red Devils’ No. 2 lowest score with an 85.

Silver Creek’s Mike Seaton shot an 83, while Henryville’s Evan Embry carded an 84.



FLOYD CENTRAL SECTIONAL

at Valley View Golf Club, Floyds Knobs, par-71

(Top three teams and top three individuals on non-advancing teams qualified for Friday’s Seymour Regional.)

Team scores — Floyd Central 297, Providence 302, North Harrison 316, New Albany 324, Scottsburg 332, Jeffersonville 342, Silver Creek 354, Corydon 357, Lanesville 360, Henryville 361, Borden 400, Austin 416, New Washington 419, Clarksville 434, South Central 542.

Top three individuals — 1. Pfund (P) 71, 2. (tie) Frank (F), White (Si) 72.

Top three individuals on non-advancing teams — 1. White (Si) 72, 2. (tie) Thompson (J), Gladden (Sc) 74.

Floyd Central — Frank 72, Cadle 78, Baumann 79, Sturgeon 73, Holderman 74.

Providence — Pfund 71, Rose 74, Spiller 75, Anderson 82, Lobeck DQ.

North Harrison — Bruce 73, Spencer 77, Matthews 87, Morris 86, Worrall 80.

New Albany — Keeler 81, Bensing 83, Kraft 79, Moody 83, Embry 81.

Jeff — Thompson 74, Morrow 91, Cunningham 92, Holloway 85, Lovan 111.

Silver Creek — White 72, Seaton 83, Dierking 96, Smith 103, Kinzer 106.

Henryville — Embry 84, Weeks 94, Robertson 93, Clark 90, Dunlevy 100.

Borden — Newton 85, Wagoner 97, Smith 101, Babiak 117, Potts 119.

New Washington — Bowman 103, Isaac 95, Looney 115, Radford 106, Hammond 157.

Clarksville — Stepp 99, Johnson 108, Edelen 114, Snyder 113, McKnight 115.

Charlestown — Balch 109, Meredith 119, Huber 99.

Christian Academy of Indiana — Wilder 86, Clark 94, Earl 90.