3rd Region Golf in Full Swing with Bowling Green and Greenwood having outstanding seasons
By Perry Swack
High school golf holds the distinctive honor of being the first sport to start its season as the first tournaments often tee off in late July. With the state tournament in early October, most of the season is played in the summer despite being considered a “fall sport.” The brutal heat has certainly played a factor through the season’s first month. How much it affects the remaining months remains to be seen. For now, we want to give you some of the top storylines of the golf season as the calendar flips to September.
Bowling Green entered the season as the defending 3rd Region champions and finished third at the state tournament in 2022. Three of the Purples’ top returners are back for one final rodeo, including Reed Richey, Ben Davenport, and Graham Hightower. The trio has played in a combined nine region tournaments. Adding a fourth senior Ty Wilson and BG is ready to contend again for a region title and state crown. “We will go as far as the four seniors will take us,” longtime head coach Adam Whitt concurred. “They played in a lot of tournaments for us last year. Graham Hightower had one of the best rounds of the day on Day 2 of the state tournament. They all have experience playing in tournaments where the intensity is cranked up.” Hightower fired a one-over 73 on the final day of the state tournament to tie for 25th overall. Davenport also had a strong showing, shooting 72 and 76 to tie for 6th at +4. He also shot a 73 at the region tournament to finish third.
Whitt and the Purples picked up where they left off last season with a strong first month of 2023. The team won the state’s oldest invitational, the KIT at Wildwood Country Club in Louisville, with a team total of 298 to defeat some of the state’s top teams including CAL, St Xavier, Trinity, and Madison Central. The Purples also picked up victories at the Daviess County Invitational, Willow Oaks, Madisonville NH Invite, the Spartan Clash, the Schoolboy Classic, the Wildcat Shootout, and placed second in the Trinity Invitational and Semi-State Preview. Richey, a WKU commit, won individual honors at the Daviess County Invitational (with a school record (-7) 64) and the Semi-State Preview, while Davenport won the individual title at the Schoolboy. Playing a tough schedule is all a part of the process of being prepared when the region and state tournaments begin. “We travel the state,” said Whitt of the Purples’ schedule. “We try to challenge our guys and let them see what the entire state has to offer.”
Another 3rd Region team looking to make some noise across the commonwealth this year is the Greenwood Gators. Winners of the 2020 and 2021 region championships, GHS was clipped by BG in 2022 by six strokes. The Gators have a new coach in 2023 as Garrett Kastelic takes over at The Swamp for a program that has reached the last four state tournaments. On the links, senior Jacob Lang has been on a tear picking up individual victories at Willow Oaks, the Bullitt East Invitational, the Spartan Clash, the Kentucky Cup, and the Christian County Invitational. The Gators were team champions in the Christian County Invite, their home Gator Invitational at Bowling Green Country Club, the Warren East Invitational, and the Semi-State Preview at Mineral Mound Golf Club.
The strength of the Gator lineup has been in their top two golfers, Lang, a UK commit, and sophomore Layton Richey. “Jacob Lang and Layton Richey are amazing players and are already off to a strong start,” Kastelic told the Sporting Times. Richey finished second overall in both the Gator Invitational and the Semi-State Preview. Both finished in the top five at the region tournament last season. In high school golf, a team utilizes five players per tournament, taking the best four scores as their “team total”. While the Gators have some of the state’s top golfers at the top of their lineup, Kastelic is confident in his entire outfit. “Our #3 man on the varsity roster who has impressed us is Jake Russell. Jake’s maturity and experience has been key this season,” noted Kastelic. “He is cool, calm, and knows how to get the job done. I’m excited to see what the rest of the season has for him.”
As we enter the final month of the golf season, area teams are turning their attention to the impending 3rd Region Tournament that will be played at Indian Hills Country Club on September 18. “When I first saw our schedule, I was in awe,” said Kastelic. “To have both region and state within twenty minutes of our school is a blessing.” Both Whitt and Kastelic are not taking the familiarity with the course for granted though. “We will play it a few times during the year to make sure nothing surprises us,” said Whitt. “Just because we have ‘home course’ advantage, doesn’t mean we’ll take it lightly,” added Kastelic. “We’ll prepare as if it is a new course.”
Barren County senior Jameson Corbin will expect to contend at the region tournament, as will Glasgow seniors Jase Cook and Bo Shelton, Allen County-Scottsville junior Eli Stamper and sophomore Baron Rutledge among others. Corbin, an EKU commit, has racked up the victories in 2023 with wins at the Raider Invitational, the Wildcat Shootout, and the Battle at the Creek. The field at Indian Hills Country Club will be stacked and will cap one of the most exciting golf seasons we have seen in quite some time.
