Strong winds made life difficult at times for the high school and middle school players working their way around The Legends on Saturday afternoon during the opening leg of the Johnson County May Junior Tournament Series.
Add in the fact that it was the first time in eight weeks that a competitive sporting event of any kind had been held in this area, and there was more than enough reason for scores to be high.
Center Grove senior Peyton Short persevered, however, turning in a 1-under-par round of 71 to claim the first of five weekend tournaments this month. Short edged classmate Caleb Tidd by one stroke.
Damon Dickey of Franklin was third with a 74, followed by Center Grove’s Sam Hord (76) and Whiteland’s Will Davis (77). Each of the top 10 players in each division earned points that will go toward crowning a series champion after the May 30 finale.
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Short, who was playing one group ahead of Tidd and Dickey, said he became fully aware of where he stood late in the round.
"I was 2 under going into the last two holes, and I felt like that was a good enough number, especially over the last two with the conditions of the day," Short said. "Toward the beginning, I knew that whoever wins was going to be under par, so I just had to go in with the mentality of just put it on the green, give yourself a chance to make a putt and then move on to the next hole."
In the high school girls division, Franklin junior Liv Parramore finished with an 84 to come out on top of a closely-bunched field that saw higher scores than expected.
"The boys were probably getting ready for their season a lot earlier," Parramore said with a laugh. "I think they were just more prepared."
Ava Ray of Franklin and Meg Fosnot of Center Grove tied for second at 88. They were followed by two more Trojans, Lauren Pagel (89) and Lanie DeHaven (90).
In the middle school division, contested over nine holes, Franklin sixth-grader Ava Bunker distanced herself from the girls field pretty easily, shooting a 37 to defeat close friend Lexi Ray (43) by six strokes. Reese Phillips of Franklin (47) was third.
Bunker, who eagled her first hole of the afternoon, was just glad to be competing again — and playing exclusively against her peers for the first time in months.
"It was fun playing with other girls," Bunker said. "I’ve been out here every day, but I haven’t really played with many kids lately, so it’s good to get out and play with some of the girls that are my age."
On the boys side, Franklin’s Reid Davidson carded a 40 to narrowly defeat Jack Besner (42) of Whiteland. Noah Parsetich of Center Grove and Luke Bechert of Franklin tied for third at 45.
For his part, Short was happy to have a chance to play against the area’s top high school talent. He hopes the tourney series will help keep him sharp for statewide individual and team tournaments tentatively planned for June.
"This brings the best of the best of Johnson County to come," he said. "You’re not just playing by yourself or hitting balls; there’s actually an added pressure to every shot, knowing that you have to play your best in order to beat the people that you’re playing against."
The tournament setup may also have been a shock to some players that had grown accustomed to using carts during their spring rounds.
"We were all so tired afterward," Parramore said, "but we had such a good time. I know me and Lanie had a great time playing together, because we don’t normally. … But yeah, we were all exhausted, so I think it was kind of a good wake-up call, like, ‘Hey, maybe you should walk sometimes.’"
