For the third straight year, the Marshall County boy’s golf team is headed to the state tournament after taking second in Monday’s 1st Region Tournament at the Country Club of Paducah. McCracken County won the team title with a score of 320, eight strokes better that the Marshals with a team score of 328.
The individual title took two playoff holes to decide when Marshall County’s Jay Nimmo and Lyon County’s Cullen Brown, last year’s region winner and state champion, finished the regulation 18 holes tied at 1-under 71 after an exciting, tension filled final couple of holes. In the final group, both Nimmo and McCracken County’s Dalton Bagwell were Even through 17 holes after Nimmo chipped in on the 17th for birdie, one back of Brown at 1-under.
On the par 5 hole, Brown went over the green into the bushes and had to drop and take a stroke, leaving the door open for Nimmo and Bagwell. Nimmo had a very makeable birdie putt while Bagwell’s fourth shot was sitting off the green. Brown dropped his fourth shot just inches from the cup for a tap in par, Nimmo sank his birdie and Bagwell finished the hole with a bogey, one stroke out of the playoff.
The playoff began on the 18th hole which both players birdied so they headed back to the tee box to play the hole again. Nimmo’s ball went out-of-bounds off the tee, which led to a bogey for the freshman while Brown’s putt for birdie gave him his third 1st Region individual title.
The top five individual finishers behind Brown and Nimmo with 71 and Bagwell in third with 72 was Mayfield’s Husten Lancaster at 73 and Marshall County’s Tyler Powell with 75.
The Marshall County runner-up scores behinds Nimmo’s 71 and Powell’s 75 came from Camdyn McLeod and Nathan Clark, both with 91 and Grant Hackney shot 92.
McCracken County’s team score of 320 was put together by Bagwell’s 72, Clayton Turnbo shot 79, Connor Kirkham 82, Garrett Rikel 87 and a 92 shot by Gavin Norsworthy.
“I’m very proud of our team today and the way they grinded out a runner-up finish”, Coach Keith Bell said. “We are headed back to the state tournament for third straight year. This was our team goal from day one and now that we have accomplished that we want to make it to the second day of the tournament. Jay and Tyler handled the course well today while Grant, Camdyn and Nathan did not have one of their best days. In the game of golf, you are going to have bad days and it’s a matter of how a player deals with that. I kept telling Grant, Nathan and Camdyn that there were going to be high scores turned in and there was.”
Bell said they will put in a week of practice to prepare for the tournament which three of the five have played in before and will be familiar with the state course at Bowling Green Country Club. In their last two appearances at the state tournament, the Marshals have advanced to the second day of play.
Team scores:
McCracken County 320
Marshall County 328
Mayfield 335
Graves County 345
Calloway County 348
Crittenden County 360
St. Mary 365
Hickman County 370
Trigg County 373
Livingston County 377
Murray 387
Ballard Memorial 389
Paducah Tilghman 405
Christian Fellowship (no team score)
