Pine Lake Prep, Seaforth in close race in 2A golf; Ty Willoughby has 3-stroke lead
Tuesday's second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 2A boys golf state championship at Stonebridge Golf Club in Monroe could be dramatic.
Pine Lake Prep and Seaforth are in a close battle for the team title. The two teams are within three strokes of one another. Pine Lake Prep is 3-over as a team with a score of 291, while Seaforth is three strokes behind at 294.
It looks like the team race will be between those two schools too. Salisbury and Newton-Conover are tied for third place at 319, which is 28 strokes off the lead.
Pine Lake Prep has three golfers in the top ten of the individual race, led by Aiden Penhall, who shot a 70 in the first round. Penhall is 2-under and sits in the second place.
Penhall recorded two birdies and a bogey on the front nine and the back nine, finishing the day with four birdies. That included back-to-back birdies on holes nine and ten, both par 5s with distances of over 500 yards.
Cooper Mizelle had the next best score for Pine Lake Prep, shooting an even-par 72. Meanwhile, Matt Utz is in a tie for ninth place with a 1-over 73.
Seaforth only has two golfers in the top ten, but the Hawks have the first-place finisher after the first day of action. Ty Willoughby leads the field at 5-under after shooting a 67 in the first round.
Willoughby shot par or better on all but one hole, scoring a bogey on the sixth hole, a 187-yard par 4. He finished the round strong with three consecutive birdies on holes 15-17, finishing with six birdies on the day.
Griffin Ching is in the ninth place and is the other Seaforth golfer in the top ten after the first day. Ching shot a 1-over 73.
Following Salisbury and Newton-Conover in a tie for third is East Surry, which finished the day 36 strokes over par with a 324.
Willoughby has a three-stroke lead over the rest of the field in the individual championship race. Penhall, Holden Rucker of Farmville Central, and Brock Reid of Chase are all tied for second place at 2-under. Mizelle, John McCory of Salisbury, Pennson Badgett of East Surry, and Jonathon Jones of Lincoln Charter are tied for fifth place at even par.
The final day of competition is scheduled for Tuesday at Stonebridge Golf Club.
2A Boys Golf Individual Leaderboard: Day 1
1. Ty Willoughby (Seaforth) | 67 (-5)
T2. Holden Rucker (Farmville Central) | 70 (-2)
T2. Aiden Penahll (Pine Lake Prep) | 70 (-2)
T2. Brock Reid (Chase) | 70 (-2)
T5. John McCoy (Salisbury) | 72 (E)
T5. Pennson Badgett (East Surry) | 72 (E)
T5. Cooper Mizelle (Pine Lake Prep) | 72 (E)
T5. Jonathon Jones (Lincoln Charter) | 72 (E)
T9. Griffin Ching (Seaforth) | 73 (+1)
T9. Slater Meade (West Wilkes) | 73 (+1)
T9. Matt Utz (Pine Lake Prep) | 73 (+1)
2A Boys Golf Team Leaderboard: Day 1
1. Pine Lake Prep | 291 (+3)
2. Seaforth | 294 (+6)
T3. Salisbury | 319 (+31)
T3. Newton-Conover | 319 (+31)
5. East Surry | 324 (+36)
6. Franklin Academy | 329 (+41)
7. Princeton | 331 (+43)
8. East Rutherford | 332 (+44)
9. North Surry | 335 (+47)
10. Martin County | 344 (+56)
