Wet fairways, uneven greens, a rough start, a rough finish – nothing was going to keep East Syracuse Minoa boys golfer Ian Rivers from rising to the top of the standings during Tuesday’s Onondaga High School League fall tournament at Timber Banks in Baldwinsville.
Rivers began his round with a double bogey, which could have discouraged him. Instead, over the next 16 holes, he played in one over par, making birdies on all four of Timber Banks’ par-five holes.
About the only other thing that went wrong was a double-bogey on the par-four 18th, but Rivers still finished with a 77, five over par, and waited to see if anyone could top it.
No one did, and only Oswego’s Joe Kelly matched it, his 77, with a front-nine 40 and a one-over-par 37 on the back nine, meaning that Rivers and Kelly shared medalist honors and will lead a group of 20 golfers advancing to May’s Section III state qualifier at Seven Oaks in Hamilton.
Rivers and his ESM Blue teammates shared fourth place in the Large School team standings with their neighbors from Jamesville-DeWitt, each shooting 457. Auburn, undefeated in the regular season, won with 423. while Oswego was second with 434. Christian Brothers Academy finished with 474.
ESM Blue’s Nick Rogers shot an 87, with nines of 42 and 45, to tie for 13th and advance to the state qualifier. Ryan MacCombie had a 93, while Dan Marriott posted a 95. Jake Harrig and David Griffith both shot 105. Two ESM Orange golfers competed, too, with Ryan Walsh shooting a 101 and Joe Pacheco contributing a 119.
As for J-D, it would match ESM Blue in advancing two golfers to the spring at Seven Oaks. Will Havens and Alvin Ratanaphan both shot 86, tying for ninth place as Havens went 44 on the front nine and 42 on the back nine and Ratnaphan shot matching nines of 43. Two others, Jake Ellithorpe (92) and Mac Mott (93), just missing out on advancing, since the cut fell at 89. Abel Ratanaphan had a 100 and Logan Latray added a 106.
CBA’s top performer, Steve Fournier, shot a 90, with a 45 on each of the two nines, to miss the cut by a single shot. Close behind him, David Gross managed a 92, while Chris Bushnell managed a 94 and Jack Lester finished with a 95. Brent Savage had a 103, three shots ahead of Mike Santaro.
