FAIRVIEW – Hunter McKelvy and Hunter Whitehead of Fairview were part of a memorable day Monday in the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 5A, Section 4 Golf Tournament at Chesley Oaks Course.
McKelvy and Whitehead played a respectable round of golf, with their scores in the 70s. That was good enough to get Fairview a third-place finish in the sectional and a berth to next week's 5A Sub-State in Guntersville.
This sectional featured quality scoring with three individuals shooting under par at Chesley Oaks and 10 others getting close to par with a round in the 70s.
The conditions were ideal for the sectional with sunny skies, a dry course and temperatures in the upper 70s.
Russellville, the defending 5A state champion, made the best of their visit to the east side of Cullman County. The Golden Tigers had an incredible team score of 280, shooting 4-under par.
They were led by senior Eli Hodges who has signed a scholarship with the University of North Alabama. Hodges dominated with a 9-under par 62. He would finish five shots ahead of Douglas golfer Anthony Lumpkin who carded a 4-under 67.
Right behind him was Russellville's Josh Seal, who is bound for Snead State after this season. Seal was 2-under with a 69.
Guntersville finished 15 shots behind Russellville with a 295, led by Morton Holcomb's even-par 71 and Reagan Harrell's 2-over 73.
Fairview's score was 318 with McKelvy's 75, Whitehead's 78, Seth Lancaster an 82 and Noah Walker with an 83.
Douglas got the last berth to sub-state by taking the fourth slot at 324. Boaz was fifth with a 340 followed by Lawrence County, Madison County, Ardmore, Randolph and West Point.
McKelvy was seventh best in the individual segment with his 75, tied with Trey Moore of Guntersville. The Fairview senior was two shots behind Reagan Harrell of Guntersville and Eric Bothwell of Russellville with 73s. Bothwell is just a seventh grader for the Golden Tigers.
Whitehead's 78 put him 12th in the tournament, a stroke behind Derek Guthrie of Madison County with a 77 and a shot in front of Brayden Bendall of Russellville with a 79.
For West Point, Brandon Farley was tops with a 90, Dave Doss a 92, Jaxon Garrison a 97 and Kolton Easterwood a 115.
The sectional featured 10 teams, eight individuals, a total of 56 prep linksters taking part in round one of the postseason segment for the sport.
The state tournament will be in Montgomery the week of May 9-11.
