Mingus Union High School’s golf team secured a Division II, Region VII win by a wide margin against Bradshaw Mountain High School on Tuesday, Aug. 29 at Prescott Country Club.
Two Marauders tied for first overall and another pair tied for third en route to a 40-stroke win. Nonetheless, on an individual level, it was not the outing they were looking for.
“I think the players were somewhat disappointed with the performance,” head coach Craig Mai said. “We’re happy with the win but we didn’t play the way we need to play if we want to compete for a section championship.”
In the nine-hole match, junior Justin Tanner and sophomore Noah Daher shot an 8-over 44. Daher birdied the first hole and shot even on the third before averaging a bogey the rest of the way.
Tanner hit par four times in his own balanced effort.
Junior Cameron Machek propelled himself into a tie for third after finishing even on the final two holes [+10/46].
Senior Ethan Brogden, also 10-over, finished even on two holes, but a bogey and double bogey in his final two holes kept him from a higher finish.
Senior Tyre Kim [+11/47], first overall in the team’s four-way match on Aug. 22, struggled. He double bogeyed five of nine holes, including four of the first five.
Holes four, six and seven were the most damaging, where the team had a total of 15 extra strokes.
The greens were much faster than what the players were used to, Mai said. Three putts and penalty strokes continued to cost them.
“It’s early in the season, but it’s not early for very long,” Mai said. “We need to make those adjustments on penalty strokes and three putts. We’ve got to eliminate those mistakes.”
But despite the inconsistent scores, what matters most is that the Marauders picked up a win against a region foe.
During the week the Marauders went to Oakcreek Country Club for practice, where conditions are more similar to Prescott Country Club than Verde Santa Fe Golf Course, their normal practice course.
The girls team also received instruction from Oakcreek’s head golf professional Heather Risk ahead of its first match. That match is at 3 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 6 at Aguila Golf Course in Phoenix.
The boys returned to Prescott Country Club on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 1 and 2, to play in the Bradshaw Mountain Invitational. Results of that and their four-way match with Prescott High School, Kingman High School and Anthem Preparatory Academy from Tuesday, Sept. 5, were not available at press time.
