Oppressive heat plays with all HOJGA competitors on Wednesday
MARYSVILLE — Chase Brackenridge had a game plan for Wednesday's heatwave.
"Stay in the shade, drink a lot of water and try to carry my bag as little as possible like when I’m waiting. I put it on the ground instead of carrying it. It got to me a little on the back nine," the Fairbanks golfer said.
Everyone woke up knowing it was going to be a scorching event as the Heart of Ohio Junior Golf Association held its latest tournament at Marysville Country Club. Knowing what awaited was of little comfort.
"You’ve got to pack water. You can sit in the shade and drink water, but there ain’t really much you can do," Fairbanks teammate Alex Crowe said.
It was 94 degrees with bright sun as the older players made the turn.
"You just have to be prepared mentally to know it’s going to be a long day. You just got to be ready," Galion's Nicholas McMullen said. "Make sure you drink lots of waters and make sure you’re ready for it because you know it’s coming."
The three golfers managed the course and the heat better than anyone else.
Brackenridge won the tournament by two strokes, shooting a 1-over-par 73. Crowe and McMullen tied for second with a pair of 75s.
"Today, I got my good scores out on the front nine before I got super hot, which is what I wanted to do. You know you’re just going to fade on the back nine," Brackenridge said of his approach to the day.
He shot a 3-under-par 33 on the front nine, carding four birdies. After the turn, he shot a 40 with just one birdie as he struggled to keep it together in the heat.
"For me, it’s keeping my temper in check and being patient when you’re playing badly," Brackenridge said. "You’ve got to let it go and move on to the next shot. That’s the most you can do, then it’s scrambling and making up and downs for par."
McMullen echoed his thoughts.
"You just got to keep going," he said. "You know it’s hot, but you’ve got to keep going. If you hit a bad shot, it feels even worse in the heat, but you’ve got to keep pushing."
While he prefers the cold to the heat most of the time, Crowe acknowledges that days like Wednesday are necessary in preparation for the upcoming high school season that starts in early August when the thermometer still reaches into the 90s or hotter.
"The best thing to do is to practice when it’s hot. That’s the easy way to get used to it. You play when it’s the same degrees it is today and then you’re ready," Crowe said. "Today wasn’t that bad until the end. If you started in the morning, it wasn’t that bad."
Rounding out the top 10 in the boys 16-to-18 age group were Logan Keller in fourth with a 77, Logan Niese fifth with a 78, Micah Greene and Minoy Shah tied for sixth with 79s, Tyler Ufferman eighth with an 80 and Mason Rinehart and Nathan McMullen tied for ninth with 81s.
Dina Shah beat Pleasant teammate Maura Murphy in a playoff as both shot 79s. Shah parred the opening playoff hole to win the girls division.
Liv Gier was third in the 13-to-18 girls division at 86 and followed by Lanie Rafey at 95, Katelyn Miley at 98, Rayma Smith at 101, Madison Jenkins at 104, Anna Songer at 105, Olivia Ross at 112 and Charlee Brestle at 116.
In the nine-hole, 12-and-younger group, Asher Gates won with a 38, while Grayson Keller was second with a 46, and Drew Thomas was third with a 49. Others in the top 10 were Griffin Gates at 50, Thomas Ottery at 52, Addie Wisecup at 56, Blake Gibson at 61, Emery Gorenflo at 65 and Nathan Kirkham at 81.
Winning the boys 13-to-15 age division was Kaden Ottley who shot a 79. Henry Terry was next with an 80 followed by Sam Reynolds with an 84, Ethan Krebs with an 86, Carson Walker and Dawson Hall with 91s, Weston Ottery with a 93, Dylan Moore with a 94, Finn Edie with a 99 and Jackson Burns with a 101.
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Oppressive heat plays with all HOJGA competitors on Wednesday
