The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School men’s varsity golf team played a match at Deer Creek Country Club, on Tuesday, Sept. 26. In the match, they competed against Pompano Beach High School, Coral Glades High School and Deerfield Beach High School.
This was the first match of the season at Deer Creek, a par 36 course, for the Eagles, despite playing there three times the year before.They entered this event with a record of 4-1. Coming off a loss to Cardinal Gibbons High School and previous struggles at Deer Creek, the Eagles hoped to turn this around with a victory over the three schools.
Senior Ryan Shimony shot a 34, shooting the low round of the day. He began the round by parring the first two holes. Following that, he birdied the next three out of four holes. Despite giving a shot back with a bogey on hole nine, he put up a round of two-under par.
“Ryan Shimony shot two under, and I think that’s one of his lowest rounds that he’s ever shot at Deer Creek, which has been a challenging course for him,” Head Coach Darren Levine said.
Just like Shimony, senior Jayden Thuraisingham began the day with a par on the first hole. After a bogey on the second hole, he bounced back with back to back birdies on holes three and four. He was consistent with pars on the last five holes, with the exception of a bogey on hole eight. He tallied up a total of 36.
“I need to improve upon my mental errors on the course,” Thuraisingham said. “I was making bad mental decisions, three putting and bad club decisions.”
The course proved to be a challenge for junior Evan Mazenac, as he only had one par for the duration of the round. He had two birdies, five bogies and a double bogey. In the end, he shot a 41.
Senior Connor Watson began the day with a birdie on the first hole and a par on the second. He then bogeyed two of the next four holes. Following that, he double bogeyed holes seven and eight, with a bogey finish on nine. Watson finished the round with a 42.
In his trek across the course, sophomore Josh Lieberman parred the first three holes. After a bogey on hole four, he had another par on hole five and another bogey on six. He ended up making a double bogey on holes seven and nine, with a par in between, resulting in 42 in the end.
“The worst part [of the course] was off the tee,” Lieberman said. “I went in the water twice, but other than that everything was pretty good.”
With the Florida heat and the absence of golf carts for the players, hydration is important to the players and the coach who is responsible for them.
“I think preparing them enough with liquids, by having the right flavor of gatorade, having the right kind of water, you the water that has the electrolytes in it to keep them nice and hydrated,” Levine said. “I think that that is the most important thing that I can do as a coach besides helping them out mentally.”
Junior Andres Hernandez put up a good fight throughout the match. Although his scores have not been posted yet his performance like his peers displayed skill.
The next match coming up for the Eagles is the Maverick Invitational, which will be held on Monday, Oct. 2 at Grand Palms Resort and Golf Club, hosted by Archbishop McCarthy High School. In this tournament last year, the Eagles placed third overall and hope to place first this year.
