COURTLAND
Coach William Whitehurst said it was tough to see his team struggle during the 3A East Regional Tournament, especially since he is losing three seniors.

Of the four counted scores, Brandon Munford led with an 84 — 9 more strokes than his conference tournament score. Brendan Simms finished with a 90, Hunter Peck a 94 and William Newsome a 95. That’s a total of 363, which was good enough for fourth place, with six teams present.

Senior Andrew Hauser shot a 98 and sophomore Chase Johnson shot 120.

Whitehurst said he was particularly disappointed for Munford, who had an excellent career at Southampton High School.

“He expected to be back at states, like he had been last year individually,” Whitehurst said. “But he just had a bad day and struggled on the greens. He missed some that he’d normally make with his eyes closed.

“But overall, I’m really proud of his career.”

On Oct. 7, one day removed from the loss, Whitehurst said Munford was at Cypress Cove Country Club practicing.

“This setback might make him stronger in the long run,” he said. “He’ll find a place to play in college. He’ll be playing somewhere next year.”

While it was disappointing to lose at the regionals, Whitehurst said he was proud they made it that far, and for the second place win at the conference tournament, as well as finishing second in TriRivers District play.

“Overall, I was very pleased with the outcome,” Whitehurst said. “The kids had a good attitude and work ethic. I’m looking forward to continuing on our good tradition.”

Though it might be something of a rebuilding year, losing three seniors, Munford, Peck and Hauser.

“But we have some young guys who love to play and are trying to improve,” he said. “Hopefully, we will continue the success of the last few years and find another group of guys to carry on Brandon’s torch.”

Whitehurst said he expects Simms, who will be a junior, to take the lead, and they’ve got a large practice squad so filling the three spots shouldn’t be a problem. He encouraged his players to make sure they keep it up during the offseason.

“Golf is not a game that you can play, put it down, and the pick it back up later and be better off,” Whitehurst said. “You have to put in the time and dedication just like every other sport.”