Archbishop Spalding Scrimmage

The first "match" of the season we faced Spalding at Lake Presidential and we were very rusty. The course was in good shape given that it was March 16th so there were no excuses for the high scores. We shot 210, Spalding 215.
Denny McCarthy - 39
Nate Cohan - 40
Greg Bourdon - 41
Justin Butler - 45
Chris Rolle - 45
Brendan O'Hare - 47
Joey Brigatti - 55
Sam Spikell hurt his hand (broke it) just before the match. There were a number of stories circulating but the guys all think it happened when he slammed his fist on a desk because of a grade he received in Math. Don't know how long he will be out; hopefully, he can make it back before IACs. He got sick right before the IAC tournament started last year and had to withdraw after 4 holes.
Rough start for the Hoyas almost 21 stokes above their average last season.
An interesting note: the boys from Spalding were excited that they came close to beating Denny. He will have a target on him all season, and beating him will make some kid's highlight for the year!

Mid Season Updates

Strang leads team in win over Paul VI

4/20/10

A much anticipated showdown with Paul VI (one of the four teams to make the Metros last season) failed to live up to expectations in part because the Panther line-up from last year suffered too many losses. Prep won handily in the 8 count 5 match by a score of 193 - 215 on the front nine at Argyle CC.
Wes Strang fired an even-par 36 with a birdie on 3 and a bogey on 9. Denny McCarthy chipped in with a one-over 37 after making birdie on the first and then back-to-back bogeys on 5 and 6. They both topped PVI's #1 Tyler Wingo who was done in by a triple-bogey on the short 5th after he yanked his short iron off the tee way left into the pond. He did make birds on 4 and 7 after nearly driving both greens on the short par fours to sandwich the bogeys on 5 and 6. Chris Abbott posted a 46.
Devin Drewyer (38) recovered after a poor chip and three putts on #3 cost him a double bogey by dropping long putts for birdie on 4 and 7. His playing partner Sam Spikell (42) struggled all day with the hard greens trying to get his ball to stay on them as well as putt them. Greg Bourdon (40) had one birdie to offset five bogeys and Nate Cohan (42)had a rough patch from holes 3 -7. He too had trouble putting the greens.
Justin Butler (46) and Tom Horton (47) both had their share of troubles.
Panther Scorers:
Tyler Wingo - 39
Brandon Luxenburg - 39
Jonathan Patch - 43
Chris Abbott - 46
Joe Murry - 49
JP - 48
Henson Peters - 51
Connor Keating - 52
Prep improved to 8-0 and 2-0 in the league with Landon looming on Thursday at Norbeck CC. This is a must win for both squads.

McCarthy Sets New School Record with a 29

4/19/10

Denny McCarthy calmly stalked his putt on the last hole from all sides as he sized up the tricky 10' downhiller with a 4" left to right break. His putting touch was velvet this day and the ball never deviated from the perfect line as he sank the birdie putt for a new school record 29 in a 9 hole match. His 7-under par round featured 11 putts, 8 greens, 7 birdies, 5 fairways, and 2 pars. His 29 easily led all players in the team's 187-227 win over St. Stephens & St. Agnes.
Greg Bourdon (38) made two birds but also two bogeys and a double. Devin Drewyer (39), playing over his home course (Norbeck CC) tallied a double and two bogeys to offset his birdie on #16. The boys played the back side for this match.
Nate Cohan (40) closed with a three putt for his round of four-over right after making birdie on #17. Justin Butler (41) made a very nice birdie on the final hole when he hit his second shot from behind some pine trees to within 8 feet after driving through the fairway. This was a welcome relief compared to his last two finishes. Sam Spikell (46) fought a balky putter all through the round. Tom Horton shot 39 as an alternate. IAC League matches count the low 5 of 6 players.
Saints scorers:
Holt Mountcastle - 42
Alex Freedman - 44
David Budway - 44
Marshall Hughes - 45
Peter Page - 52
Parker Paterson - 62
Prep improves to 2-0 in the IAC and 7-0 overall.
McCarthy's record tops the 30 previously set by Mike Mitchell ('96) against SSSA at Army-Navy and tied by Greg Carlin ('04) at Indian Springs against Landon and Kevin Vollmer ('04) in the IAC Championships at Shenandoah Valley CC.

McCarhy's three-under 33 leads Hoyas to win at Lake Presidential

4/15/10

Denny McCarthy birdied holes 2,3,4, and 7 with a bogey on #6 at the beautiful Lake Presidential Course in Upper Marlboro in the rematch of last year's bout with Archbishop Spalding as the team won 193-210.
Sam Spikell (37) made birds on #2 and 4 but bogey on #3 after driving into the trees on the right and taking a drop, another on #6 and a three putt closing bogey on the difficult par three #9 over the water. Devin Drewyer (39) fired three beautiful shots in a row to make eagle on the par 5 third hole but then made a triple on #6 and then finished #9 with a bogey.
Nate Cohan (42) posted 5 pars, 2 bogeys and 2 doubles as he struggled with his short game. Justin Butler (42) once again came a cropper on the last hole with a triple bogey 6 after hitting his tee shot in the lake. He had one birdie to offset three bogeys. Greg Bourdon (43) struggled throughout his round especially with his short game and managed just three pars on the day. Wes Strang (44) left early to go to the opening NHL Playoff game between the Capitals and the Canadiens. A quad on #4 did him in early in the round as he pumped two into the trees. He thought it was out of bounds but the scorecard clearly indicates the tree line is to be treated like a lateral hazard.
Charlie Garner (49) in just his second appearance of the season made a lovely birdie on #3 and his eagle putt stopped inches short right in the heart.The rest of the round caused him problems.
Cavalier Scorers:
Alex Eaker (39)
Max Farrington (42)
Mikey Collins (41)
Brian Petrosky (44)
Eric Baptsteller (44)
Foster Rankin (47)
Kent Philbin (47)
Jeff Mellin (49).
The Little Hoyas won their sixth straight this season in this 8 count 5 match.

Spikell's 33 helps Prep stave off Gonzaga 184-192


4/12/10

Sam Spikell remained quite cool throughout his round at Bethesda CC as he had his wedge working. Sam hit tight shots on #4, 5, and 6 for three consecutive birdies and held on after a bogey on #8 with a smart par on the par-three 9th. His score proved the difference in the overall match with the Eagles.
Nate Cohan (36) and Greg Bourdon (37) matched their counterparts throughout as they won by two shots. Nate had birdies on 2 and 4 and bogeys on 1 and 3 before finishing with a bogey on #9. Greg also birdied #2 but bogeyed on 4,5,and 9.
Denny McCarthy (39) and Wes Strang (39) both had uncharacteristic days as they each slipped to four-over but they were only one shot back of their opponents at the end. Neither of them had any birdies on the day but a double each and two bogeys. For the second time this season the top 5 scorers all finished under 40.
Justin Butler (42) was two-over par after three putting #8 only to watch the wheels fall off on #9 as he hit his tee ball out of bounds on his way to a quadruple bogey. Despite this Justin and partner Sam Spikell managed to beat their opponents by six shots.
Devin Drewyer (42) had difficulty getting out of the blocks as he posted doubles on #2 and #3. Tom Horton (44) got on the bogey train early and just could not get off as they played in the last group of this 8 count 5 match.
Leading scorers for the Purple Eagles were:
Keegan Boone - 36
Max Ruge - 36
Will Byrne - 39
Addison Coll - 40
Joe Marvin - 41
Brian McCormick - 41
Kevin Keehan - 42
Tyler Winters - 43
The 8 stroke margin of victory has been the closest of the season so far as the team moves to 5-0.

McCarthy's even par tops field in win over WFS

4/10/10

On a breezy day at The Members Club at Four Streams in Beallsville, Denny McCarthy fired an even par 47 with 8 pars, 2 bogeys and 2 birdies in a steady round. Noted was his string of four straight threes in the middle of the front side. Nate Cohan (49) got off to a rough start and was three over after 4 holes before he stuck one close on #5 and then ran six straight pars to finish at two-over. They sparked a rare win over Woodberry Forest School of Orange, VA. Prep tied them a few years back but it has been since 1992 that the Hoyas defeated the Tigers.
Wes Strang (52) had a real roller coaster of a round: birdie, bogey, triple, birdie,
par, birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey, par, double, bogey!!Justin Butler (54) got off to a rough start with 5 consecutive bogeys but made pars on 5 of the remaining 7 holes.
Greg Bourdon (55) played well for 11 of the 12 holes but the blind #11 cost him dearly as he ballooned to a quintuple bogey 9 after he lost several tee balls. Sam Spikell (56) had trouble with his errant tee shots on #3 and #9 on his way to 7s there. He managed to hang on to post his nine over score.
Tom Horton (59) and Chris Rolle (60)completed the lineup for the Little Hoyas in this 8 count 5 match.
Tiger Scorers:
Shep Hardison - 52
Bennet DuPont - 52
Tyler Grills - 53
Jack Dalrymple - 54
Charles Moore - 55
Charles Blaydes - 58
Timothy Walter - 62
David Lee - 72
With this rare win over WFS the Little Hoyas move to 4-0 on the season.

Forest Fire Rages while Prep Wins

4/7/10

For the first time in over 33 years of Prep Golf, the team was sidetracked by a forest fire in the mountains right next to the White Tail Golf Resort in Mercersburg, PA, where the Hoyas defeated the Blue Storm of Mercersburg Academy by the final score of 189-214 in an 8 count 5 match.
Denny McCarthy shot an even par 36 as he was helped by a 30 yard pitch shot that took one hop and dove into the cup for an eagle on the par 5 #9. Since we started with a shot gun format due to the delay that the forest fire caused, this was Denny's sixth hole. This shot offset a bogey on #8 and his last hole #3. Nate Cohan (37) fired his way to two-under with two holes to go on the strength of birds on #4, 7, and 9 but his short game let him down on #1. After driving within 20 yards on the 378 yard hole (it was down wind, and downhill!), Nate stumbled to a double bogey, followed by a bogey on #2. Sam Spikell (38) continued some solid golf as he matched two bogeys on 3 and 5 with back-to-back birdies on 6 & 7 only to trip on his last two holes #1 and 2 with some errant driving.
Wes Strang (39) played steadily with just three bogeys on #3,4,and 5 to go with 6 pars. In his first start of the season, Greg Bourdon (39)kept up his steady play as he had 6 pars, one birdie, one bogey and a disastrous triple on #6. This hole was closest to the fire but Greg couldn't put out the flame. This was the first time this season that the top five scorers all posted numbers below 40.
Tom Horton (43), Chris Rolle (43) and Devin Drewyer (43) each took different routes to their respective scores. Devin nearly holed out on #7 for a double eagle but then promptly got into trouble on #8 on his way to a quad. Chris drained a fifty footer on his very first hole for a birdie 2 but hit a string of bogeys after that. Tom made his first par on #6 and his last on #9 all the rest were bogeys.
Blue Storm scorers:
Chuck Mellott - 38
Harrison Brink - 40
Julian Zschocke - 42
Otto Bunjapamai - 45
Paul Suhey - 48
Eli Woodworth - 48
Sam Schadt - 49
Sam Hook - 53
The minibus was within sight of the golf course only to be turned around by the firemen who said the road was impassable because of the fire "apparatii". This meant we had to drive 45 minutes back and around the mountain to come in from the North. This was the first ever golf match between Georgetown Prep and Mercersburg Academy.
Coach Galley paid the team a nice compliment when he said he thought we were the strongest they faced all season.

Welcome to 2010 Season

First match of the year fell victim to the back end of a coastal storm that opened the spigots on the CC of Maryland where we were supposed to play Calvert Hall - a first time for both of us. Hopefully, we can find a time to play later in the season.
Second match , which became the first, took place at Four Streams in Poolesville against Good Counsel on Wednesday, March 31. Clear skies but a little breezy. Course played down with only a few wet spots where balls would plug. Great conditions for the early part of the season. The team won 195-207 from the blended tees on the front nine.
The guys scored well against the course and there were some interesting numbers.
1) Wes Strang (GP)- 35 (-1)
2) Sam Spikell (GP) - 37 (+1)
3) Tom Horton (GP) - 38 (+2)
4) Denny McCarthy (GP) - 39 (+3)
4) Kevin Joesph (GC) - 39 (+3)
6) Paul McDuffie (GC) - 40 (+4)
7) Wilson Spencer (GC) - 41 (+5)
8) Bobby Kessler (GC) - 43 (+7)
9) Jason Horsley (GC) - 44 (+8)
10) Daniel O'Brien (GC) - 45 (+9)
11) Chris Rolle (GP) - 46 (+10)
11) Charlie Garner (GP) - 46 (+10)
13) Joey Brigati (GP) - 47 (+11)
13) Andrew Shirdon (GC) - 47 (+11)
15) David Hermann (GC) - 48 (+12)
Wes drained a 15 footer on the 4th hole for his only birdie of the day.
Sam posted two birdies, one on the difficult 7th hole a par-3 into the wind over water, but had a 3-putt on the last from about 50 feet to finish one-over.
Denny started with a birdie on the par-5 first and just missed a second birdie on the par-5 fourth but a plugged ball in the trap on 5 cost him a double bogey.
Tom had trouble off the first tee on his way to a double bogey 7 but bounced back with a bird on the second hole and played evenly the rest of the way.
Chris started with four straight 6s but almost made a hole-in-one on the 5th just missing by inches, and Charlie bounced back from a lost ball triple on the second with a birdie on the third.
Joey lost a ball on his third shot on the opening hole and could not recover from that triple.
Nate Cohan (Hilton Head), Greg Bourdon (Barcelona), Justin Butler (Nassau), and Devin Drewyer (wisdom teeth extraction) should be back in town for the next match, Monday April 5th against Episcopal at Norbeck CC.

Wins in Virginia over PVI and SSSA

On an extremely cold and windy Tuesday afternoon, Prep (6-0) defeated Paul VI (10-1) on their home course of CC of Fairfax 6.5-2.5. Coach had five layers on and could have used another at times. But the players seemed to persevere nonetheless.
As has become custom Denny McCarthy started the match with the Panther's #1 Tyler Wingo by winning the first three holes to set an early torrid pace. He finished the front side in 37 with a couple of uncharacteristic putting misses but managed to close out Wingo on the 10th hole of the 12 hole match.
Sam Spikell started in the #2 slot based in part on his good showing the last two outings but he struggled with his putting and some bad breaks along the way and lost 1 down to Jay Pinkos. On the third hole, for example, Sam hit a draw into a small stand of trees but was not able to find his ball and had to go back to the tee to rehit. Later Coach found his ball in the rough on the opposite side of the fairway. Sam had a chance to pull his match even on the final hole but his 12 foot birdie putt refused to drop.
With Denny's torrid start and a clutch birdie putt on #7 by Sam they easily won the best ball point.
The second group was a wash. Nate Cohan drew Brandon Luxenberg but he couldn't get any part of his game going this day and Brandon, who also had his share of troubles outlasted Cohan 3 and 1. Nate won the par 5 fifth hole with a 7.
Greg Bourdon , on the other hand, had a good back and forth match with Matt Astorino but he prevailed 3 and 1 as well. The best ball came down to the final hole where Astorino made an excellent recovery to save par while Bourdon put his third shot on the par 5 hole outside of birdie range, and the point was halved.
Wes Strang and Matt Brown dominated the third foursome fairly easily. Wes struggled with his game again today, especially his putting but still managed a 3 and 1 win over Alex Kormanec. Matt kept the pedal down and cruised to a 4 and 3 win over Scott Simmons. His play complemented Wes' quite well and they won the best ball point 4 and 3.
In all likelihood these two teams will meet again in the Metros on May 12th at International CC in Virginia.
On Holy Thursday the guys wore short sleeve shirts and a few even donned shorts as the weather warmed up to the low 60s for the match with St. Stephen's and St. Agnes. The ride out to Mt. Vernon Golf Club took the scenic route out the parkway alongside the Potomac River and that may have been a portend for some of the players. Too much woods and water.
A few starters were not in town for this contest but the team stepped up to pull off a 190 - 208 win. Matt Brown was low man for the day on the basis of his even-par 35. He played conservative golf and kept the ball in play for the most part. He did "over club" on #4 which resulted in a three putt but made up for it by sinking a 10 footer on the ninth hole. As Captain, Matt switched up the pairings a bit and opted to play with Nate Cohan. Nate posted 37 with a birdie 3 on the most difficult hole on the front side - #3 where he stuck his nine iron relatively close after a drive that hugged the tree line.
Sam Spikell played a most conservative game (for him) today until the ninth hole. He made one mistake on #4 when his three-wood caught some tree limbs and kicked into the woods and out of bounds on the right, but he rebounded by bombing a drive over the corner of the dogleg to the front edge of the green where he made the up and down to salvage a bogey. On #9 Sam took his drive as deep as he could go so that he might have a more open approach to the ninth green from the first fairway. But he could not convert the opportunity and had to settle for a three-putt bogey. He finished one over at 36.
Greg Bourdon did a lot more scrambling than he is used to and faltered on #8 and #9 with back-to-back sixes on his way to a 41. Tom Horton sandwiched three straight pars between a four-over start and a two over finish to close with another 41. Jack Myers simply had a miserable round as he couldn't keep the double bogeys off his card; he soared to a 45.
The Saints were led by David Budway (36), followed by Holt Mountcastle (39) and Joe Curley (40). Marshall Hughes had a triple and two double bogeys on three of the last four holes on his way to a 46; Hunter Garth was ten over par on just three holes on his way to a 47. Alex Freedman simply struggled to a 52.
The team improved to 6-0, 2-0 on the season and looks forward to next week's match-ups with St. Albans at Columbia CC, Gonzaga at Argyle, and Archbishop Spalding at Lake Presidential in Upper Marlboro, MD.

Waxing Loyola

Sophomores stepped up yet again as Prep defeated Loyola Blakefield by 22 strokes today at Norbeck CC in Rockville with a final score of 182-204.
Denny McCarthy was low man once again for the Hoyas as he shot a two-under 34 on the front side in windy and chilly conditions. He pulled a wedge badly on the 351-yard first hole and that led to a bogey but he drained a 40-footer from the second level on the par-3 third for a 2. He got to one-under when he got up and down from about ten yards off the par 5 fifth green and then left a ten footer for par short of the hole on number 7. On the 485 yard par-5 eighth, which was playing down wind, he hit an 8 iron for his second shot to within 12 feet and then made the putt for an eagle. On the final hole Denny had a difficult bunker shot from a downhill lie to a close front pin position that he managed to get to within two feet.
Wes Strang (junior) bounced back from his struggles in his first two matches with an even-par 36. He canned an 8 footer on three for birdie and then followed that with a birdie on four again from about ten feet. His third shot on the fifth sailed over the green and he was stymied by a tree as he missed a good opportunity for a turkey. On the seventh hole Wes pulled his drive into the left rough and his line to the green was blocked by a stand of trees. His second caught some branches and fell almost straight back into the fairway. Then after he hit a good third shot he miscued from less than two feet for an uncharacteristic three putt for a double bogey. He rebounded with two fours on 8 & 9.
Sam Spikell (sophomore) playing in his first match since the inaugural win over Good Counsel fought off some medicine reactions that gave him the shakes on the first two holes as he went bogey, double bogey to start. He made a twelve foot birdie putt on #3 and then a two-putt birdie on #8 as he finished with a 37.
Nate Cohan (sophomore) continued his very steady performance with another 37. Nate made birdie on #2 from close to fifteen feet only to miss the green on #3 and settle for a bogey when he couldn't get up and down from the left side. Pars followed on 4, 5, & 6. But faced with a similar shot that Wes had from the left rough on #7 Nate left his second shot out to the right and he caught a bad lie in the right hand trap. His explosion barely got out of the trap and his chip left him a long bogey putt so he took a double bogey there. Like Wes, Nate closed with a birdie and par.
Greg Bourdon (sophomore) played steady if unspectacular golf on his way to a 38. He had a three putt bogey on the second hole from about 40 feet and could not negotiate an up and down for par on #3. But he came back with a birdie on 4 only to have another three putt on #5 for bogey. His birdie on #8 was followed by a bogey on #9 when his trap shot trickled past the pin and left him with a tricky sidehill, downhill putt to save par.
Matt Brown (senior) shot 39 with four bogeys and one birdie. Even the alternates had a good day today as Jack Myers (37), Mike Marcus (37), and Tom Horton (40) played very steady golf. Jack had an opening and closing bogey with a birdie on #8 and Mike had a three putt bogey on #3 with eight other pars.
The 182 is just three shots off the all-time team nine hole score of 179 posted last year at Whiskey Creek against DeMatha in ideal weather conditions. Today was far from ideal - very windy out of the west and cloudy with periods of downright chilly air.
Low man for the Dons was Ben Shields (39) for the all-senior squad. Mike Finnegan (40), Colin Greenwell (41), Brendan Buchness (42), Church Waesche (42), and Cory Voelkel (44) played for Coach Marty Stewart who announced that this was his last season coaching the Dons and that he was passing the mantle along next year.
Marty represents the best camraderie of high school golf coaches. He spins good yarns, provides the best for his boys, and win or lose he is always a gentleman. He will be missed and hopefully this rivalry can continue without him. It just won't be the same.