BANGS – They both faced adversity, both worked through it and both came out on top. Mount Vernon golfers Beau Bridges (a junior) and Spencer Hughes (a freshman) ended the day with identical 5-over-par 41’s to lead their team to a 166-187 match win over Wooster in Ohio Cardinal Conference play at Chapel Hill Golf Course in Bangs this week.
A bad start for Hughes could have proven disastrous. This was only his second varsity tournament. When it was over, it was the first time his score had ever counted in the final tally in a varsity tournament.
“I started off pretty rough,” Hughes said. “I was at least 4-over through the first two holes, but after that hole I knew there were two easy holes coming up and I could make some pars and maybe some birdies. With those holes I knew that if I could keep my cool, I could post a pretty low score and that's what I ended up doing, because I played the last seven holes at one-over.”
The freshman has been a pleasant surprise to Jackets’ fans this season.
“Spencer Hughes has been playing really quality golf lately,” Mount Vernon coach Anthony Savage said. “He is a freshman who has spent a lot of time on his game. He absolutely loves it and he has some tools to go with it. I think his poise is most impressive to me. He plays within himself and he makes good decisions. Most importantly, he doesn't beat himself.”
Beau Bridges has his own way of working through the frustrating holes.
“What helped was the coach getting on us for getting down on ourselves too quick. My first three holes were tough; and after that, I thought, ‘I have six holes left. I have a lot of golf left. I could turn this around real quick if I wanted to.’ So that is what I decided to do and it worked out in the end.”
Also having a good day for the Jackets were Ben Bridges (42), Carter Carpenter (42), Byron Justice (44) and Cooper Carpenter (45).
“We play a lot of good holes, but something has plagued us all year,” Savage said. “We’re making big numbers on certain holes. Ben Bridges made seven pars and two triples in this match. His brother, Beau, got off to a terrible start, but ended up playing his last six holes at even par. That's been the story of our entire year so far. We played tons of good holes and then we sprinkle it with minor disasters; and in golf, that's tough to come back from.”
