Fort Mill boys golf team starts season at No. 6 in SC. Two other teams aim to catch them.

Fort Mill opened its boys golf season ranked No. 6 in the state in 5A, while Nation Ford and Catawba Ridge both want to establish themselves as contenders for a spot in the state tournament in May.

Fort Mill beat both Nation Ford and Catawba Ridge in the only meeting between all three teams this season. They all meet in head-to-head matches later this season.

The Jackets shot 143 as a team at the par 36 Springfield Golf Course and was led by Anthony Clark, who shot a 32 to lead all three teams as medalist. Nation Ford shot 174 on their home course and was led by a 41 from John Moss. Catawba Ridge shot 195 and was led by Nolan Will with a 41.

Here’s a look at the three teams.

Fort Mill

The match for Fort Mill was a start to what they hope is a state championship season, according to head coach Judd Dye.

“We are optimistic that we should compete for a state championship come May,” Dye said.

The 5A state championship will be played at Rock Hill Country Club, the home course of the 2019 state champs the Bearcats. Fort Mill hopes it will be able to overcome that advantage.

“It is a golf course they are familiar with,” Dye said. “But we play there a lot as well. Playing there is better than going to play at a place you haven’t been.”

Fort Mill will play at Rock Hill Country Club against Rock Hill in April as part of the Fleischer Invitational and then in a dual match the same month. The Jackets, who play home matches at Tega Cay Golf Club, won the HV3 Invitational last year and hope to win again. They also play in the Bengal Invitational this month.

The Jackets return most of their players and most of their starters from last year, including Griffin Tarver and Mike Wheeler. Cam Cappuzzo, Fort Mill’s No. 1 player last season, graduated. However, Dye said his team is deep this season.

The Region 3-5A tournament and the Upper State tournament will both be played at Chester Golf Club, Nation Ford’s home course.

Nation Ford

The young Nation Ford team could have a tough year against strong opponents, head coach Matt Savage. said

Nation Ford has two seniors — John Moss and Logan Johnson — three freshman, two eighth graders and four seventh graders.

“We are hoping that come middle of the year to get in gear and be playing our best golf by the end of the year,” Savage said.

Nation Ford will be in the same tournaments as Fort Mill, and it will compete in other non-region matches against South Pointe and Catawba Ridge. The top three teams from the Upper State match qualify for the state tournament and each region will qualify an individual from a non-qualifying team. Savage hopes his team qualifies for the tournament. if it doesn’t, he wants the Falcons represented in some way.

“The goal is to at least have an individual qualifier for state,” he said. “Getting to Upper State would be a good accomplishment for us.”

Catawba Ridge

The Copperheads have nine golfers, including a junior, two sophomores and two eighth graders as their top five.

“We are thinking about the future and the next couple years,” coach Mickey Joslin said. “Our goal is to go as far as we can. The golfers are good golfers and they have an appetite to win.”

Catawba Ridge plays its home matches at Fort Mill Golf Club, and has six home matches this season. It will also play in the Magnolia Invitational on March 23-24 at Beech Creek in Sumter.

The Copperheads will play in the Region 4-3A championship at the Camden Country Club. If they make the Upper State tournament, they’ll head to Boscobel County Club in Pendleton. The 3A state tournament will be at Three Pines Country Club in Woodruffr.

Mac Banks: mbanks@comporium.net, @MacBanksFM