HOWARD – Ben Bridges has raised his game this summer. The golfer from Mount Vernon High School, who will be a junior this fall, is putting in the time and the effort, and it’s showing in his game.
Bridges finished tied for eighth in the 16- to 18-year-old division on the latest stop of the Central Ohio Golfing Academy (COGA) tour at Apple Valley Golf Course on July 20-21. He shot a 5-over-par 149 in the 2-day event in a division that included 58 golfers.
“This summer, I took a bigger step in my game than last summer,” Bridges said. “I played in more tournaments to try to improve. I have been hitting balls. I've worked a lot more this year, and it definitely paid off.”
His coach has been watching the improvement in Bridges throughout the scholastic offseason.
“This summer, he's trained a lot and he just competed in a lot of junior tournaments,” Mount Vernon coach Anthony Savage said, “That's what it takes to test yourself and to kind of hone your game in and to begin the process of getting college looks. He actually struggled early on this summer in some of his events. I've been extremely proud of him for how he has continued to keep at it, keep his nose down and keep working with a trust that results will come if he continues to do the right things and continues to work at it.”
Work, along with some patience, paid off.
“The summer started where I was struggling,” Bridges said. “I wasn't shooting the numbers I wanted. Then, at the tournament at Chapel Hill, I shot a 1-under for two days. After that, it kind of clicked for me, and I understood what it took to score the ball better and how to play around each course.”
That patience was tested at Apple Valley on hole No. 9 right off the tee.
“The first day I played it pretty well,” Bridges said. “I just hit a drive on the fairway. On Wednesday, I hooked the drive into the trees. I punched out and still missed the green. Fortunately, I was 1-under going into No. 9. So, at that point, I was hitting for par off the green. I just tried to get out of it with a bogey and play well on the back nine. I ended up shooting the 36 even-par on the front. I played pretty solid on the back nine, but I ended up giving it away a little bit on the back nine.”
He held his game together through the par-4 15th, where he bogeyed.
“My second shot hooked right and up on top of the hill,” Bridges said. “That left me with a really hard shot. So, I just got it on the green, took my bogey and had to go on from there.”
Will Streby, a Fredericktown sophomore, shot an 81 on Tuesday and a 78 on Wednesday, leaving him tied for seventh place. That was tops among area golfers in the 13- to 15-year-old division. That included a one-over 37 on Wednesday’s front nine, where he birdied holes 3 and 4.
“My short game has gotten better this summer,” he said.
The 11th hole is always a challenge, but he handled it both times through. Hole 10 was a little more of a problem.
“On 11, you have to avoid the trees and the pond,” Streby said. “I was able to par 11 both days. I double-bogeyed 10 on Wednesday, but I parred it on Tuesday.
Like Bridges, Streby struggled on 15.
"Fifteen was a par 4," he said. "It played pretty long, and I bogeyed that one.”
Mount Vernon's Beau Bridges also competed in the 16-18 division. He shot a 165 for the tournament with rounds of 82 and 83. Josh Pethel of Hudson won the division with a 3-under 141.
Spencer Hughes of Mount Vernon shot a 181 in the 13-15 division, which was won by Powell's Carter Rutherford, who shot a 1-over 145 to beat 39 other golfers.
