Shamrocks second after Day 1, Kutchma shares individual lead

By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com

CARMEL – The Westfield boys golf team was a happy bunch after the first day of the IHSAA state finals finished up on Tuesday.

The defending state champion Shamrocks had reasons to be happy. Westfield finished the first round with a score of 295, only four strokes behind leader Center Grove’s 291. That means the Rocks are within striking distance of the lead when the tournament continues with the second round this morning at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.

“You just want to give yourself a chance on the second day,” said Westfield coach Josh Bryant. He credited his team with playing well through the “90 minutes of really tough weather” that spun up in the afternoon while the Shamrocks were on the back nine.

“They just battled the whole time,” said Bryant. “We were on that tough stretch at 13, 14, 15, 16 when it blew in and we played those holes really well when you look at the scorecard.”

In addition, a Westfield golfer has a share of the individual lead. Hudson Kutchma is one of three players on top of the leaderboard. The senior scored a four-under par 68 on Tuesday, placing him in a tie with Center Grove sophomore Drew Carlson and Castle freshman Alexander Cook.

Kutchma began his round with three consecutive birdies and totaled six birdies overall in his round.

“He’s had an incredible season,” said Bryant. “He’s been a winner all season. He’s been in the top three dang near three-fourths of our events and it does not surprise me that he’s playing well.”

Senior Ryan Cesare made two birdies during his round of 74, while junior Brayden Worthington scored 75, including one birdie. Senior Mitchell Keene totaled 78 with two birdies and sophomore Keaton Knott made one birdie during his round of 81.

The Rocks and Center Grove will be in the final group of today’s second round, along with Castle and Guerin Catholic. The Knights are currently in third place with 297, while the Golden Eagles are fourth with 301.

Junior Brady Wagner and senior Eli Wessel both scored 73, which makes them part of a six-way tie for seventh place. Wessel made four birdies and Wagner made one.

Freshman Myles Ray scored 76, including one birdie. Another freshman, Cooper Howard, scored 79, including two birdies and junior Andrew Williamson totaled 81, making one birdie.

“We didn’t play very well,” said GC coach Mark Mathews. “We can play better than that. We’ll organize and then start again tomorrow.”

Noblesville is in fifth place with a score of 302. Senior Tyler Marucci is tied for fifth place with an even-par 72, a score that includes an eagle on hole No. 3. Marucci also made three birdies.

Senior Jackson Mahan scored 74, including one birdie. Freshman JT Kelley made four birdies during his round of 76. Senior Dustin Turpin totaled 80 and freshman Vaughn Twilla scored 81; both made one birdie on Tuesday.

Hamilton Southeastern is currently seventh in the team standings with 307. Freshman Zach Kinser led the Royals with 74, including two birdies.

Senior Mattingly Upchurch scored 75, making three birdies. Senior Blake Babb and junior Brody Colburn both drained two birdies during their rounds of 79, while junior Dane Starnes totaled 81, including one birdie.

The second round of the state finals will begin at 7:30 a.m. this morning. The start time was moved up a half-hour due to the possibility of severe weather this afternoon.

Southeastern’s golfers will tee off between 7:30 and 8:10 a.m., Noblesville’s golfers will start between 8:20 and 9 a.m., then the Westfield and Guerin Catholic golfers tee off between 9:10 and 9:50 a.m. All county golfers will start from the first tee.