By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
KEIZER, Ore.– Blanchet’s Dominick Hauge came out strongly in Monday’s 3A/2A/1A Special District 2 round at McNary Golf Course.
The sophomore was one-under par four holes in and was one-over by the turn to the back nine holes. The Front Nine holes saw the sophomore birdie on two holes, the first and sixth. And despite a slowdown going into the turn, with bogey’s on five, seven and eight, Hauge rebounded well to finish the round three-over par. Shooting a 74 to take the Individual round win.
“It felt good going through the first four holes, and then I had a bogey, but I bounced back and got back to a good pace,” said Hauge. “Some courses it’s been difficult, but I feel like I’ve been able to get back on the track that I want.”
The Cavaliers Kaden Orizotti finished second, a stroke behind Hauge. The sophomore Orizotti had a solid back-nine and had the lead going into the 17th hole, but back-to-back bogey’s on 17 and 18 spoiled Orizotti’s bid to the win. Quinten Beyer finished 26th with a round score of 94.
A strong showing for the squad who were missing an athlete and had another withdraw halfway through the round on Monday.
“As a team we’ve been playing pretty well. We have no seniors this year and we’re still doing pretty good for what we had for our team,” said Hauge.
The Salem Academy Boys Golf team finished third as a team. Led by Isaiah Reina with a ninth-place finish, Reina shooting a 85 on the day for the Crusaders, knows it wasn’t his best day on the course, but he was satisfied by his performance on the course.
“85, not horrible, but not my best. I could definitely shoot better, but overall pretty good,” said Reina. “I can definitely improve on my Iron shots, it could help a lot. I keep pushing them right and carrying me down a little bit, but other than that…I think that’s the best thing I can improve on. Maybe on the mental side too, not getting so down on myself.”
Finn Dunn finished 13th with a 87 and Drew Davis finished 19th with a 92 to lead Salem Academy.
“The team’s doing pretty well. I think we got a decent shot at going to State this year,” said Reina.
The Regis Golf squad finished fourth as a team as Jake Laube and Eli Silbernagel both finished tied for fourth, both shooting a 82. A senior-heavy squad, the Rams are hoping for a run here in the back-half of the season.
“I started off pretty rough, but once I got into some open holes on the back, I got my confidence back with my driver,” starts Laube. “We’re all out here to have fun and that’s all that matters to us.”
Andrew Hawley finished 16th and Grant Dolby finished 47th for the Rams.
Pleasant Hill took the round with a team score of 338. Chase Vargas finished third with a 77, picking up three birdies on the course on Monday. Landen Melvin and Logan Melvin both tied for seventh with a 84 to help the Billies to the overall team finish.
Santiam Christian finished second as a team with Brendan Fitzpatrick finishing fourth with a 82 and Trey Yost finished 19th at a 92 to anchor the Eagles in the round.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
