TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Suncoast Pinellas News

East Lake Golfers End On High Note

Rebound After Tough First Round In The Class 2A State Finals

ADVERTISEMENT

By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: November 1, 2007

LAKELAND - LAKELAND - It was a wet, windy two days for East Lake High School golfers converging on the challenging grasses of Lakeland's Golf Club at Bridgewater for the 2007 state championship tournament.

Before Tuesday's opening round was even under way, the Polk County course had already been soaked from rains the night prior. That rain did not let up much all the way through Wednesday's final 18 holes of play.

Winds of up to 35 m.p.h. – as if the pressure of the state final isn't enough – added to the difficulty.

The Bridgewater layout is "extremely challenging under normal conditions," East Lake Head Coach Terry O'Reilly said after the first round. "These make it even more so."

In the school's first trip to the state tournament since 1994, East Lake completed both days in a tie for 12th place overall out of 16 groupings.

East Lake was also the only Pinellas County team to be represented in the Class 2A State Finals.

The tough weather – along with the nerves that naturally come along with a state championship – equated to the Eagles getting off to a slow start Tuesday.

East Lake finished that day with a disappointing total team score of 329. Senior Nick Buccina, however, managed to salvage an impressive 2-over-par 74.

With less rain but winds just as gusty as Tuesday, East Lake showed its true colors and bounced back in round two, scoring an aggregate 303.

Buccina was again the team medalist, shooting a 3-under 69. He was one of only two players all tournament long to break 70 and tied for the third lowest individual two-day score at 143.

The four other Eagle golfers competing were: Terry O'Reilly (83-77, 160), Tommy Peterson (84-80, 164), Jeff West (88-77, 165), and Ryan Stolz (92-84, 176).

"I don't know if they were just grinding it out and not letting the conditions get to them as much today or what," Coach O'Reilly said of their second-day performances. "But they really showed up today."

"I'm very happy for the boys. They proved they could play with the best golfers in the state."

Players and coach alike were hoping to crack the Top 10 going into the tournament. That alone would designate them as the best team in school history.

The aforementioned 1994 State Finalist East Lake team finished in 10th that season.

"It was a great experience. I told the guys that no matter what, they will always be a state finalist," Coach O'Reilly said. "No one can ever take that away."

Overall, Nease High School, the Ponte Verde Beach school best known for its former football quarterback, Tim Tebow, ran away with the state golf title.

The Panthers shot a lights-out two-day total of 579. Nease scored 23 strokes better than the runners-up, Miami-Palmetto High and Olympia High, Orlando.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT