ONTARIO – Ashland's 2019 state-qualifying boys golf team returned intact this season and it remains intact. But just because the Arrows are injury-free doesn't mean they haven't adopted a "next man up" mentality.
They've just put a different spin on the mantra, thanks to the major contributions they are getting throughout the lineup from one week to the next.
You expect junior No. 1 man and All-Ohioan Tyler Sabo to set the tone and that's how it played out Friday at Oak Tree. He fired a 3-under 69 – including an incredible 31 on his back nine – to take medalist honors for the champion Arrows in the 13-team Madison Invitational.
But it's not like Sabo has to carry the team on his back.
In the Aug. 20 Weiss Invitational at the very challenging Ashland Golf Club, it was No. 2 man, sophomore Kam Mowry, who took medalist runner-up honors by scorecard tiebreaker over Sabo to help the Arrows take second in the 15-team field.
Then in Ashland's first Ohio Cardinal Conference dual meet on Thursday, low man was senior No. 3 Aiden Baker as the host Arrows beat chief rival Lexington by 11 strokes. They won easily even though Mowry's score was dropped.
And then there was Friday. Junior No. 4 man Aidan Chandler shot a 76 to finish one stroke away from matching the medalist runner-up score as Ashland prevailed by a 305-310 margin over Lex despite five Minutemen shooting in the 70s.
"I think the strength of our team is that everyone is capable of going low," Chandler said, "and on a course like this, a lot of us took advantage of it."
Chandler improved by 15 strokes over his showing in the Weiss, although some of that is expected given the tougher conditions at the Ashland Golf Club.
"It's a harder course, but I think I got my swing down and I was hitting my drives very well today," Chandler said. "I hit a couple of drives over 300 yards and put myself in good position. And I had my putter rolling, too. When you have your putter rolling, that's a big confidence booster."
Sabo was 4-under for his final 4 holes, with two birdies and an eagle on the par 4 No. 13 where he drove the green. Thanks to his second sub-70 round of the season, the Arrows posted their lowest score in his three years with the varsity.
As was the case in the Weiss, Ashland beat four OCC rivals, which could give the Arrows a huge psychological edge for the Sept. 24 league tournament at Mohican Hills.
"Even though we won Thursday (over top challenger Lex), we didn't di as good as we wanted to," Sabo said. "I think today was a good confidence booster and let us know we should be on top (in the OCC).
Sabo had been scuffling a little since shooting a 67 in Ashland's first tournament of the season.
"Toward the end (today) I felt more like I want to be," he said, "but I have to keep working to be more consistent."
Nobody in Ashland's lineup shot higher than 85 on Friday, with Mowry (79) and Baker (81) having the other scores that counted.
"We've got a group of guys that if we could put it all together, we could be amazing," Ashland coach Dan Priest said. "One guy might end up disappointed with his round, but we are starting to put it together. This was a pretty good win."
Chandler had four birdies and just missed another on his final hole.
"I made par and I always tell myself, a par is always going to be a good score," he said. "I played the par 5s at even par and the par 4s at just one-over."
The highlight of Chandler's round came on the par 4 No. 8. He hit a good drive, but a wayward approach shot went right of the green. He recovered nicely by chipping in for a birdie.
"Little things like that can be a big momentum booster," Chandler said. "That was after a 3-putt bogey, so that just turned my mental approach around.
"At the beginning of the year I didn't start out very hot. I had a couple of lessons with Dan and we worked a couple of things out. Now it seems like I'm back to where I was in the summer."
Ashland was able to hold off Lex even though the Minutemen had five of their golfers crack 80. Ashland, with three, and Findlay, with two, were the only other teams with more than one player in the 70s.
"Everybody broke 80, except one, my son (Trevin), and it's my fault," Lex coach Greg Smith said. "I yelled at him on No. 12 to hit the ball right and he hit it out of bounds and made a 10. If he gets a 5 (par) there he has a 76.
"This was our best round of the year although we had one other round where everybody broke 80. We're close. We're getting better. Ashland beat the snot out us (Thursday) night. We know they're better than us and we've got to work to get better."
Since they had matching 320s at the Massillon Jackson Polar Bear Invitational on Aug. 10, Ashland has put Lex in the rear view mirror. It started at the Weiss, where the Arrows bettered their OCC rival by 17 strokes. Lex closed the gap on Friday after a long day on Thursday.
It was especially long for TrevDials, who after the dual with Ashland went out to the putting green at Westbrook Country Club and worked on his short game until 10 p.m.
"To beat Ashland in the OCC, I've got to put the work in. So I did," said Dials, who was medalist runner-up Friday with a 75. "I was happy with the round today, but I still had four or five 3-putts."
Dials drove the green for an eagle on No. 3 and came about a foot short of another eagle on No. 5.
"I'm struggling with my drives, too," he said, "but it was a good scrambling round."
Cayden Durchik had a 77 to back Dials and a trio of Minutemen — Troy Chapman, Michael Massa and Isaac Vance — finished with 79s.
"As a team we really need to work on our putting," said Dials, who last season was Lex's first state qualifier since 1987. "We don't adjust to greens very well. Obviously at Westbrook (their home course), the greens are normally pretty nice. Then we go to other courses and we don't adjust to the speed."
Findlay (321), Madison (333) and Clear Fork (338) rounded out Friday's top five. Jaekob Conard led the host Rams with a 76, while Jared Scott and Caleb Dettmer had matching 83s to lead the Colts.
"I was frustrated," Conard said about being visibly upset at the end of his round. "I had a few bogeys on the back and I ended up doubling 18 after a bad tee shot, but I did well on the front."
That was Conard's low round of the season, coming on the heels of a 36 on Tuesday.
"I have good momentum going for me," he said. "The big thing now is hitting more greens in regulation and knocking down putts."
Clear Fork was coming off a title in Monday's Tyger Invitational, where Scott was medalist runner-up with a 77 at Twin Lakes.
The Colts have six seniors in their program, with two playing varsity. But it was four underclassmen — Scott, Dettmer, Peter Cook and Zane Schultz — whose scores counted in the tourney win.
"We've been playing pretty well," coach Jeremy Riddle said. "This year with our practice we're doing a lot more chipping and putting and working on the short game instead of just going out and playing every day. It's really made a change in the results we've been getting early."
Madison Invitational
Site: Oak Tree Golf Course
Team scoring: 1. Ashland 305, 2. Lexington 310, 3. Findlay 321, 4. Madison 333, 5. Clear Fork 338, 6. Wooster 339, 7. Elida 343, 8. North Royalton 353, 9. Ontario 354, 10. Bucyrus 378, 11. Crestview 394, 12. Mansfield Senior 398, 13. Elyria 399
Medalist: Tyler Sabo, Ashland 69
Medalist runner-up: Trevor Dials, Lexington 75
Area schools in top 5
Ashland: Tyler Sabo 69, Aidan Chandler 76, Kamden Mowry 79, Aiden Baker 81
Lexington: Trevor Dials 75, Cayden Durchik 77, Troy Chapman 79, Michael Massa 79, Isaac Vance 79
Madison: Jaekob Conard 76, Ian Wolfe 85, Landon Ellis 85, Jameson Myers 87
Clear Fork: Jared Scott 83, Caleb Detmer 83, Drew Lind 86, Zane Schultz 86
Low men for other area schools: Brett Hill, Crestview 90; Grady Jackson, Bucyrus 87; Luke Hodapp, Mansfield Senior 89; Ryan Chapman, Ontario 80
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How low can they go? Ashland's 305 wins Madison Invite - Mansfield News Journal
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