By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
Bishop Brossart will have a team competing in the boys’ state golf tournament for the first time since 2006 when the opening round gets under way on Friday at Bowling Green Country Club.
To make the long-awaited trip to the season finale a memorable one, the Mustangs need to shoot good scores in the first 18-hole round to be among the 12 teams that advance to the final round on Saturday.
“It’ll be a challenge,” said coach Chris Holtz. “It’s a little bit longer (course) than we typically play. But you’ve just got to keep the ball in play. If you get it in the rough, it’s going to make it difficult to score. So length (off the tee) is important, but it’s not the end-all. It’s more about keeping it in play.”
Brossart earned a berth in the 24-team state tournament by winning the Region 8 championship last week at Laurel Oaks Golf Course in Maysville. The team leader was senior Joey Ampfer, who shot a 71 to take medalist honors.
“He’s not a big hitter, the short game is Joey’s forte,” Holtz said. “I think he ended up with eight birdies that day. It was just a day where his chipping and putting made the difference.”
The other golfers in the Mustangs’ lineup – seniors Davis Brown, Bryce Kremer and Ian Bracke and sophomore Jerod Baynum – play other sports during the school year. Holtz said Ampfer gave up baseball to concentrate solely on golf and hopes to continue his career in college.
“He definitely has an interest in playing on the next level,” Holtz said. “He wanted to do well (in the regional) last week and show what he’s capable of. Hopefully, he’ll put on a good show this week at state and show people what he can really do.”
Covington Catholic and Ryle are the other local teams that qualified for the boys’ state golf tournament. The girls’ state tournament began Tuesday morning with Ryle and Notre Dame among the contenders.
The Ryle girls’ team posted a 348 total in the first round to place eighth among the 12 teams that advance to Wednesday’s final round. The scoring golfers for Ryle were Olivia DiPaolo (83), Brooklyn DiPaolo (86), Caitlyn Richardson (87) and Madison Kleckner (92).
Louisville Sacred Heart shot 315 in the opening round and leads the girls’ team standings by 12 strokes over Shelby County (327) going into the final round. Jackson County and Green County are tied for third place with 337 scores.
Two of the individual golfers who qualified for the final round were Madison Smith of Cooper with a 5-over 77 and Lauren Bracken of Notre Dame with a 6-over 78. The top names on the leaderboard are Sarah McDowell of Murray and Ke’Asha Phillips of Owensboro, who both shot 1-under 71.