LaGRANGE, Ohio (Oct. 2, 2023) -- Rocky River carded a four-man score of 316 Monday at Grey Hawk Golf Club. And with a top-4 finish -- River took third place in a field of 15 teams -- the Pirates will play into the second week of October: they qualify for Buckeye State district tournament play.
A veteran-laden Double-R lineup got a big lift from freshman Caden Lawrence, who picked a postseason test as the time to fire his second-best score of the season (76 at Chippewa GC, Aug. 7). Lawrence carded a 36-41--77 on the par-72, 6,687-yard layout at Grey Hawk. He was masterful down the stretch, playing his final seven holes -- holes 3-9 in the format where the nines at Grey Hawk were flip-flopped -- in 1-under par. The freshman rolled in a 15-foot birdie on the 375-yard, par-4 sixth. He finished seventh in field of 76 players.
Finishing eighth in that field was River's Luke Dietrich, who registered a pair of birdies on the way to a 41-37 78. The Pirates' No. 3 was Dan Capka, who logged an impressive rally after a near-disastrous start to his round. He went par-par-quadruple-bogey-double-bogey over his first four holes. The senior then chipped in for a 4 on the 532-yard, par-5 14th. That was the start of a stretch that saw Capka play 11 holes 1-under par. His end-product 79 matched his career best.
"It was impressive the way Dan and Caden bounced back and played so tough in their rounds," said coach David Hendricks, whose Pirates have posted top-quartile finishes in four straight tournaments. "Team golf is so much fun because you have to rely on different kids to step up. Today it was Caden and Dan."
River's No. 4 Monday was Nick Tianello, who carded a 43-39--82. As a team, Rocky River hit 56.9% (41-of-72) of its greens in regulation while averaging 32.8 putts per man.
Only Westlake (308) and Amherst (314) undercut the 316 carded by the Swinging Corsairs. Strongsville (322) edged out St. Edward (323) for the fourth-and-final qualifying spot. The event medalist was Strongsville's Dean Upholzer, who fired a 4-under 68.
For Upholzer and the Mustangs. And for a strong Pirates team, it's now back to square one. Level par with 18 to play. Those 18 will be at Pine Hills GC in Hinckley next Monday.
CANNON FIRE ...
NOTABLE: Caden Lawrence hit 36.8% of his greens in regulation while averaging an 83.4 from Aug. 9-Sept. 25. Over his last two rounds, the talented freshman has hit 23-of-36 greens (63.9%) while averaging a tidy 77.5. ... Rocky River's last four tournament finishes this season: 1st-of-11, first-of-14, second-of-10, third-of-15.
QUOTEABLE: "It’s a great feeling to advance to the districts with a team that has done so much for our program. We can’t wait to get to Pine [Hills] on Monday and give it our best effort." -- David Hendrickson
by Skip Snow
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