Youth Movement Leads Jesuit to State Title
Freshman Lewis wins medalist honor with 1-under par 143
Thursday, May 01, 2008
By Billy Turner
ALEXANDRIA -- When Jesuit held tryouts for its golf team last season, Myles Lewis was impressive. But he wasn't selected for the team.
"You couldn't have eighth-graders running around on your golf team," said Jesuit Coach Chad Laborde, smiling.
Laborde instead relied on senior golfers, and Scott Lawless won the state title. Lewis bided his time.
He was rewarded for his patience. Lewis shot a 1-under-par 71 Wednesday to win the Louisiana High School Athletics Association Division I (Class 5A) State Golf Tournament at Oak Wing Golf Club. He was the only golfer under par for the tournament and during the second round.
The wind was up on the tournament's second day, and Lewis shot a two-day total of 143.
Lewis and fellow Jesuit freshman Peyton Vitter, who shot 149, will lead this team for four years. Already people are saying Lewis has a chance to break former Mandeville golfer Matt Hungerman's record of three consecutive state titles.
Hahnville's Andrew Noto and Mandeville's Austin Gutgsell finished tied for second at 145, but Noto won in a playoff. First-day leader Nick Siegert of Slidell shot 79 in the second round to finish seventh.
Gutgsell was comforted by the fact his team edged Noto's for the team title, shooting 600 to Hahnville's 602.
"I played pretty well," said Gutgsell, who won the State Junior Amateur last summer. "I just made a couple of mistakes on the front nine."
The Skippers won every tournament in which they participated this season.
Lewis started slowly this season.
"He shot 81 in his first round this spring," Laborde said. "But since then he was an All-Freshman player in (a tournament at) Myrtle Beach (S.C.), and he's played well ever since."
He opened with par 72 Tuesday. In the second round he began quickly.
"It was completely different than yesterday," Lewis said. "I started with a double-bogey yesterday, and today I started birdie-birdie. I hit it within a foot on three and decided to try to finish it out, but I had a little mishap and missed the putt (for birdie).
"But I hit it pretty great all day. I made a stupid mistake on six, but it was more of a birdie-bogey day."
He shot 35 on the front nine as his competition faltered. Siegert, who shot 69 the first day, had a completely different experience in the second round. His putting, which was superb in the first round, deserted him.
"I couldn't get any putts to fall," Siegert said. "It was totally different than the day before. The conditions were hard, it was windy and I didn't play as well. I made a good run at it, but . . ."
Siegert heard about Lewis' steady round as Siegert, playing in the threesome behind Lewis, finished the front.
"I heard on No. 11 that that kid Myles was 2-under. I knew I had a lot of work to do. I couldn't. He's a good player."
Noto, who shot 70 in the first round, ran into trouble on No. 8, a 200-yard par 3 that is protected by deep greenside bunkers.
"I hit the ball fairly well," Noto said of his 75. "I had a hiccup on the eighth hole. I made a quadruple bogey (seven). I putted myself into 5 over. I played my last 10 holes 2 under par, but it was too late."
Considering his team's two-stroke loss, it was particularly damaging. The Skippers, who were runner-up last season and have only one senior (Gutgsell, a LSU signee), were steady in both rounds.
Evans Haile shot 74-74-148, John Hemphill shot 153, Blake Kelly (who won the regional last week) shot 154 and Josh Kohler shot 177.
"We're just so consistent," Haile said. "All our players are consistent. All of us shoot in the 70s in every tournament it seems.
