Golf: Knights take fifth in national tourney

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA -- Normally a trip to Port St. Lucie on the Atlantic side of the Sunshine State would find visitors basking in the sun on white, sandy beaches, sipping a favorite drink in a lounge chair while breathing in the sea air.

Not so for the Johnson boys golf team.

The Knights capped their most successful season ever with a business-like performance in The Nations tournament, an invitation-only, three-day national event at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie.

The Knights finished fifth among the elite group despite a rough opening day. Johnson coach Jeff Steele said it was "the cherry on top" of a great year.

"This has been a great group of kids and we knew they could be good this year," Steele said. "But they exceeded all of our expectations. We are very pleased with how we finished."

However, the Knights' luck looked like it may have run out after an opening day 240 that had them sitting next to last in the team standings.

"We had a tough first day, which is probably my fault because I did not realize we could practice on what was the toughest course in the rotation," Steele said. "We dug ourselves a huge hole. They were a little disappointed after that first day but they did a great job of getting back in contention. Had we scouted that first course I feel like we could have had a shot to win it."

St. Anthony's Team 1 from Ellington Ill., won the team title with a 658. Bighorn (Shreveport, La.) took second at 669, Parish Panthers (Dallas, Tex.) was third with a 674, Lovington (Lovington, NM) was fourth at 683, and Johnson fifth at 691.

Johnson was one of 10 high school teams nationally selected to play in the prestigious tournament based on scoring average during the season. The Knights won their first-ever Region 7-AAA title and finished fourth in Class AAA state tournament during the regular season.

It was the first three-day event for the group and Steele said a change in scheduling for this past season helped prepare the Knights for tournament-like events.

"We switched from playing matches to more tournaments (18 holes)," he said. "I think that helped us to be ready for the bigger events like the region and state tournaments."

Georgia State-signee Grant Cagle finished third in the individual tournament with a solid 2-over par (218) performance. Chase Leone of Bighorn fired an even-par 216 to win the low medalist. Jacob Jameson of Lovington finished second at 1-over 217.

"I thought all the guys played well," Steele said. "Grant, though, was solid throughout. It was probably one of his better outings all season."