CULLMAN – Making adjustments after one of their top golfers was home with the flu, the Fairview Aggies kept the Good Hope Raiders at bay to win another Cullman County High School golf championship.
Fairview lost senior Hunter Whitehead for the final round Wednesday after he developed flu-like symptoms Tuesday. Whitehead was coming off a good first round with an 85, four shots behind the leader, his teammate Austin Scott.
Hunter McKelvy came to the rescue for the Aggies, getting a final round 80 that offset three scores in the upper 90s. The Aggies maintained a respectable lead against Good Hope that held up through the final 18 holes.
Fairview won with a two-day score of 709, shooting a 348 on Wednesday. Good Hope cut 10 strokes off its final round with a 358, getting a tally of 730 for the 36 holes of competition.
Wednesday, the event shifted from Terri Pines Country Club to Cross Creek Golf Course, formerly known as Cullman Municipal.
Good Hope gave it a challenge as Cole Pearson led the charge for the Raiders with a final round 76, shooting 4-over par. That would be the best individual score of the tournament in two days and would propel Pearson to the individual championship.
Pearson overtook the Fairview tandem of McKelvy and Scott to fire a two-day score of 158. Pearson would be one of three Raiders who lowered their total from round two after having high first round scores.
Alex Owens blazed his way to a final round 88 after a first round 95 for a 183. That was good to get Owens on the All-Tournament team for the Raiders with Pearson.
Riley Eisner went from a 104 to a 101 while Josh Cofer wound up with a two-day score of 184, shooting one behind Owens. Cofer also made the All-Tournament team.
McKelvy's final round of 80 was six shots better than his first day score of 86. He would have a 36-hole total of 166, third best among the individuals.
Hunter Yeager got a 96 Wednesday and fired 193 for the tournament for Kurt Knight's Aggies with Seth Lancaster shooting a 98 after a first round 89 for two days of 187 on two local courses.
Making a gallant move as well was Holly Pond's Dawson Foust. Foust went from an 83 in the first round at Terri Pines to a 78 on Wednesday at Cross Creek. That pushed him into the runner-up position in the tournament behind Pearson, shooting 161.
The second best score of the final round enabled Foust to be placed on the All-Tournament team.
GIRLS:
Fairview cruised to the team title by a final round 270, finishing with a 561 for two days. All three Lady Aggies had better second rounds than they did firsts.
Dalys Mullican led her team with an 87, five shots lower than her 92 on Tuesday and scored a 179. Maci Yeager had a 94 for both rounds and was next with a 188. Aladie Howse showed a strong final round with an 89 after a first round 105 and put a total of 194 on the scorecard.
But individually, it was Lindsay Rodgers of West Point. Rodgers worked herself to an 84 on Wednesday and wound up with a two-day total of 172. Rodgers settled a score with Mullican after Mullican beat her to win the individual crown last year.
Rodgers has won the county championship in two of her three seasons competing for the Lady Warriors.
Now the 2016 champion, Rodgers will make a push to get ready for postseason play coming up right around the corner. She will return to Terri Pines Monday in an invitational hosted by Cullman High School. Thirty-five quality female golfers are planning to participate along with Rodgers.
Rodgers earned a berth to the state tournament last season in Montgomery and is setting her sights on a return trip.
