Bar set high for Fort Mill golf team this season

The Fort Mill High boys’ golf team has high expectations heading into the season.

Second year head coach Justin “Judd” Dye said his team knows what it takes to win this season and feels confident the Yellow Jackets can be at the right place come the end of the season.

“If we don’t win the region, we should at least finish second,” Dye said. “We have set the bar pretty high this year. We are trying to take things to another level this year.”

Dye said he would love for his team to make it to the state tournament this year as the top four finishers in the region head to the Upper State and from there the top eight at Upper State head to the state tournament. The region tournament is scheduled for April 25 at Rock Hill Country Club.

Fort Mill had just one match so far to open its season which was against Northwestern at home at Fort Mill Golf Club. They came up short, falling 161-177. Leading the way for Fort Mill was Thomas Blouin with a 41, followed by a pair of 45 from Carter Copeland and Jake Runkle. Thomas Hart shot a 46 to round out the scoring for Fort Mill.

The Jackets were without their top three players on the team due to illness and a death in the family. Dye has a different approach to putting the best lineup together as the top two finishers from each match automatically qualify for the next match, and then the rest of the team battles for the remaining four spots by playing against each other at practice. Dye said it keeps them competitive.

Fort Mill has roughly a week off before heading to the Magnolia Invitational at Beech Creek Golf Course in Sumter March 13-14. The Jackets will play at home March 21 and March 23.

This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Bar set high for Fort Mill golf team this season."