By RICHIE HALL
When Indiana high school spring sports were canceled for 2020, it meant quite a few unfortunate things for the student-athletes of their respective sports.
One of them was not getting a chance to participate in a post-season tournament. That included boys golf. But high school-age golfers will now have an opportunity to play one last round in June.
The Indiana Golf Association has developed two tournaments: The Indiana Class of 2020 Senior Open and the Indiana 2020 Boys Team Championship.
The Senior Open is for high school players graduating this year, while the Team Championship allows for high school-age players to get the chance to play an organized team event.
Westfield’s head boys golf coach Josh Bryant is helping to organize the event, serving as a consultant with the IGA in supporting the organization of the event. Registration for the Team Championship began on May 8, and Bryant estimated close to 50 teams signed up after a few days.
“The IGA feels that’s a pretty good turnout initially,” said Bryant. The registration window runs through May 29, so the number is likely to grow. (Registration is open through the IGA’s website; click on this link to access it.) Bryant said the lengthy registration window allows for golfers and their parents to make a decision on participating in the event based on where things stand with the pandemic.
The Team Championship begins on June 8 with a qualifying day at seven sites around the state. Those sites are: Brookwood Golf Club (Fort Wayne), Harrison Hills Golf and Country Club (Attica), The Players Club (Yorktown), Ulen Country Club (Lebanon), The Legends Golf Club (Franklin), Otter Creek Golf Course (Columbus) and Country Oaks Golf Club (Washington). The finals take place June 10 and 11 at the Ackerman Course at Purdue University.
“Based upon the number of entries, each site will have “X” amount of teams that will go to the finals,” said Bryant.
Each team will consist of five players, with the best four scores counting for the team total. This is similar to how team scoring works in high school golf. One difference, though, is that only teams will advance to the finals; there will be no individuals qualifying. Bryant said that since the IGA has many individual tournaments throughout the summer, “this was an attempt to have a specific team-oriented event only.”
Another big difference is that teams may choose which site they want to play at. This is a big change from high school golf, where teams are assigned to a course.
“It’s a fun little wrinkle that isn’t always there,” said Bryant.
So far, golfers from Westfield, Guerin Catholic and Noblesville have put together teams; in fact, there are three different teams that consist of golfers from Westfield. There will likely be more teams that feature golfers from other schools in Hamilton County as well. Outside of the county, golfers from Tipton, Zionsville and Cathedral have created teams.
INDIVIDUALS AT THE LEGENDS
Before the Team Tournament is set to tee off, the seniors will get their moment with the Class of 2020 Senior Open.
The Senior Open takes place June 3 and 4 at The Legends in Franklin. Registration for the event was given for free to the players through Ted Bishop, the PGA General Manager of The Legends, and Merchants Bank of Indiana. Bryant said he’s thankful to The Legends and Merchants Bank for sponsoring the event at no cost to the players.
There will be 114 golfers at the event, with tee times only. All players will begin at the No. 1 tee in order to practice social distancing and stay within the federal guidelines. The first round, on June 3, will begin at 8 a.m. with the first group, while Bryant estimated the last group of the day will start its round close to 3 p.m.
“Tee times will be spread out a little longer than you normally see in a junior event,” said Bryant.
After the first round, a cut will be made. The top 40 and ties advance to the second round on June 4, and those golfers will play another round to determine the champion.
While the Senior Open won’t replace these golfers’ senior year, it is a chance to celebrate their contributions to golf. Bryant talked of giving those players a chance to make their last putt and be with their families.
“It’ll be a good celebration for those kids,” said Bryant.
As of press time, 12 golfers from Hamilton County were signed up for the event: Clay Stirsman, Luke Prall and Lukas Stitle from Carmel; Bryce Robertson, Nathaniel Acres, Dylan O’Daniel and Ryan Gausepohl from Fishers; Colin Hussey from Guerin Catholic; Adam Horner from Hamilton Southeastern and Lucas Snyder, Drake Biggs and Jacob Riddle from Westfield.
Spectators will be allowed at the event, unless new guidelines come out between now and the tournament.
“The policy will be following whatever the current CDC guidelines are,” said Bryant. “Golf carts may be limited.”
“The IGA has been working with the Governor’s office,” said Bryant. “It’s being very well-communicated with government officials.”
Meanwhile, the IGA is accepting registration for junior events that are taking place after June 1. That includes the Girls-Indiana Junior PGA Championship, set for June 3 and 4 at Harbour Trees Golf Club in Noblesville.
Also on those same dates, the Indiana PGA Senior Open will take place at Purgatory Golf Club in Noblesville. That will open up a busy month of golf for the IGA and the Indiana PGA.