The St. Paul boys golf team was 4-0 entering Tuesday afternoon’s NVL match at Chippanee Country Club.
The Falcons and their opponents from Watertown were greeted by a heavy mist, but surprisingly no wind, at the first tee. St. Paul and Watertown battled it out over the front nine of the Bristol course and the Falcons emerged with a tight 176-180 victory over the Warriors. St. Paul improved to 5-0 while Watertown fell to 6-1.
On a day where players wouldn’t get extra roll on the ball due to the wet conditions, Matt Downes shot a one-over-par 36. Teammate Brandon Frye was just two shots off his pace at 38. Twin brothers Dan and John Gaffney each fired a 51. That was enough to beat four Watertown scores in the 40s (44 and three 45s). Downes and Frye play the game year-round.
“They love it. They eat, breathe, sleep golf,” St. Paul coach Ryan Philipp said.
You have to love the game on the kinds of days you sometimes get at a hilly course like Chippanee. There was no wind, but it was certainly wet.
“It’s just wet so you’re not going to get any kind of roll out there. It’s just going to hit and stop,” Philipp said just after the match began. “You’ve got to be precise with your irons. You don’t want to be in the rough because it’s thick and heavy and wet. It’s going to make it play tough for sure. The best thing though is there’s no wind. We never get no wind up here.”
Bristol Eastern also played a match at Chippanee on Tuesday, which gave Philipp more time to catch up with his cousin, Lancer head coach Anthony Julius. Eastern beat Platt by a single stroke, 213-214, on Monday at Chippanee. Tuesday brought an even bigger challenge against Middletown.
GALLERIES
Here are my photos from today’s St. Paul boys golf match.
Here are my photos of Bristol Eastern boys golf getting ready for today’s match.
PHOTO CAPTION: St. Paul boys golf outlasted Watertown, 176-180, on Tuesday at Chippanee Country Club and improved to 5-0 on the season.
