Fauver brothers lead Hudson boys golf to dominant Suburban League National Conference title
AKRON — Good Park Golf Course in west Akron has a reputation as one of the area's toughest.
What's the secret for conquering it? For Ben Fauver, it's don't play the course before a major tournament.
Playing at Good Park for the first time in his life, Fauver smoked the course with a round of 68 Thursday in the final Suburban League boys golf tournament.
"I was hoping for the team to do well," Fauver said. "I hit the ball really well; the best I've hit it in a while. I hit two really tight shots on par 3s in the back nine, but missed the putts. I was driving it well, so that worked out well."
The Hudson freshman beat big brother Sam Fauver by five strokes (73) to win National Conference medalist honors. However, as Sam Fauver won the previous three league tournaments, he claimed National Conference player of year.
"I'm totally fine with it. My ball striking wasn't great. My short game saved me and putting was good enough," Sam Fauver said. "It's different because it's kind of cold and rainy. The greens are kind of softer."
Sam had no problem taking second behind his little brother.
"I think he's getting ready," he said. "I think he's figuring it out and I think he's learning a lot."
The Fauvers keyed Hudson dominating the National Conference team race, as the Explorers completed a sweep of the four league tournaments. Hudson shot a round of 300 Thursday, finishing 24 strokes ahead of runner-up Stow (324).
"You look at this golf course as a shot-maker's golf course," said Hudson coach Matt Villenauve. "The key to playing this golf course is not getting in a lot of trouble. For having two guys play this course for the first time … it was great.
"This is probably a generational moment for our program to have two brothers be this outstanding at their craft. As friendly as they are to each other, there's an internal fire that keeps them burning."
Stow's AJ Halsne shot one of his best rounds of the season to take third at 77, while Twinsburg's Jack Phillips (78) and Hudson's Jerry Du (79) rounded out the National Conference leader board.
Highland, Kent's Liam Curtis cruise to the American Conference boys golf titles
The American Conference races followed the same script as previous tournaments.
Kent Roosevelt's Liam Curtis completed a tournament sweep, winning American Conference medalist honors with an even-par 71.
"I played pretty good today," Curtis said. "It's a lot tighter than a lot of other courses. It was a little rainy, a little wet, but wasn't too bad out there."
Curtis held off Highland's Ryan Przybysz (74) and Barberton's Marco Silva (75) for medalist honors.
"Anytime you shoot par, it doesn't matter where you're playing, it's a decent score," said Roosevelt coach Ben Curtis. "Overall, he's about where he should have been. You get a little bit off line and a lot can happen."
Although Przybysz couldn't catch Curtis, he led a team effort by Highland to complete a sweep of American Conference tournaments.
Highland shot a round of 310 to skate past Roosevelt (328) and Aurora (331). The Hornets' Przybysz, Zach Butcher (76), Luke Butcher (80) and Nate Sprutte (80) all had steady rounds.
"That's the thing this year is we're pretty deep," said Highland coach Andrew Dutt. "When one guy doesn't shoot well, another guy comes in. Honestly, I was thinking 320 would be a good score this year, but we've been 310 to three-teens all year."
"Definitely mission accomplished. We came out here and did exactly what we wanted to do," Przybysz said.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Fauver brothers lead Hudson boys golf to Suburban League title
