Local golfers place in regional tourney
Published 9:10 pm Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Nansemond River placed sixth out of 12 schools and King’s Fork freshman Chris Angelelli placed 28th out of 91 individuals at the Eastern Region Golf Tournament on Tuesday at Red Wing Lake Golf Course in Virginia Beach.
Warriors junior Bryce Strong registered the top score among Suffolk athletes at the event, coming in 15th individually with a two-day total of 157, which contributed to his team’s two-day total of 644. Fellow Warrior junior Griffin Genier tied for 26th with a 161.
Angelelli had a difficult start to the tournament on Monday but returned to more familiar form with a 79 on Tuesday. This capped off a remarkable first year at the high school level for Angelelli who was the Bulldogs’ number one player.
“I think he did very well to come into high school golf and compete as well as he did,” King’s Fork coach Calvin Mitchell said. “I’m not terribly surprised because he had a lot of competitive experience with the summer tournaments that he plays, the (Virginia State Golf Association) and other tournaments.”
Mitchell felt that Angelelli put forth a good showing at the regionals and saw it as a positive learning experience for the young talent.
“I think he learned a lot about himself and how he plays when he’s competing in high level events,” Mitchell said. “I was most pleased that the second day he was able to get back to the basics of focusing on his targets and not so much worrying about the outcome of the swing.”
This meant not letting a bad swing be a distraction from the end goal of getting to the green and then the hole.
Angelelli finished with a score of 162 to tie for 28th with four other golfers.