Spruce Creek wins Volusia/Flagler boys golf title; Brody Kelly, Michael Watson medal
PORT ORANGE — The trophy shows its age with a few scratches and worn edges. The first winner listed on its side was DeLand in 1976. But Spruce Creek coach Mark Grose still held the hardware with a smile on his face Monday.
His Hawks claimed the Volusia/Flagler Championship at Crane Lakes Golf & Country Club, adding another chapter to the long-time local tournament.
Even without junior Gabriel Hull, who ranks 11th in the state but missed Monday’s event due to an illness, they totaled 287 strokes, which put them 15 ahead of runner-up New Smyrna Beach. Four Spruce Creek golfers finished in the top 12.
“Any win is a good win,” Grose said. “We started out very slow today. But all the players kind of settled in and played pretty good the rest of the way.”
That included senior Michael Watson, who tied Barracudas senior Brody Kelly atop the individual leaderboard. Both fired 3-over-par 69s.
A large bunch followed closely behind, with seven other golfers carding a 72 or better.
“It feels pretty good,” Watson said. “We had a little bit of a rough patch (in the last two weeks). Our team kind of dropped off a little bit, but it’s good to get back on top.”
The Hawks are fifth in the state. They will head south for The Classic in The Palm Beaches High School Invitational against many of the state’s other contenders Friday and Saturday.
New Smyrna Beach, the only other local program in the top 130 of the Florida High School Athletic Association rankings, sits 77th.
Several of the Volusia-Flagler squads will meet again next Monday for the Five Star Conference tournament.
HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING: DeLand boys, Spruce Creek girls capture Five Star Conference titles
Brody Kelly, Michael Watson become co-medalists
Neither Watson nor Kelly enjoyed ideal starts Monday. But both will happily accept their final placements.
They each kicked off the day with three bogeys on the first four holes before rebounding and shooting par across the last 14.
After the 3-over start, Watson birdied holes 5 and 9 while bogeying 6 and 15.
“I couldn’t really make a putt, but I didn’t make any really big mistakes,” he said. “I was just solid. I was hitting the fairway. I was hitting the green. I was making pars.”
Kelly performed similarly. He responded to his 3-over beginning with birdies on the same holes as Watson. He bogeyed 8 and 14.
“I hadn’t really been hitting it well (recently), but I’ve been trying to keep it smooth and keep a positive mentality throughout the day,” Kelly said. “It led me to that.”
Three golfers — Matanzas’ Trevor Challice, Spruce Creek’s Scotty Messick and New Smyrna Beach’s Tyler Brewer — shot 70s and fell one stroke back of the lead.
NASCAR: AJ Allmendinger wins, why is Kaulig Racing waiting? Bubba matures, Bilicki awaits apology
Full Volusia/Flagler Championship results
Team standings
1. Spruce Creek — 287
2. New Smyrna Beach — 302
T-3. DeLand — 308
T-3. Seabreeze — 308
5. Matanzas — 324
6. Father Lopez — 354
7. University — 359
8. Flagler Palm Coast — 362
9. Pine Ridge — 393
10. Atlantic — 395
11. Mainland — 428
12. Trinity Christian — 524
Individual top 20
T-1. Brody Kelly, New Smyrna Beach — 69 (+3)
T-1. Michael Watson, Spruce Creek — 69
T-3. Trevor Challice, Matanzas — 70
T-3. Scotty Messick, Spruce Creek — 70
T-3. Tyler Brewer, New Smyrna Beach — 70
6. Wynter Dodson, Flagler Palm Coast — 71
T-7. Isak Coveney, DeLand — 72
T-7. Jack Rossheim, Father Lopez — 72
T-7. Isaac Baldwin, Seabreeze — 72
10. Jacob Watson, Spruce Creek — 73
11. Kyler Crafton, Seabreeze — 74
T-12. Ben Washuta, Spruce Creek — 75
T-12. Chris Kable, Pine Ridge — 75
T-12. Brock Williams, DeLand — 75
T-15. Sam Garewal, Seabreeze — 79
T-15. Stanton Bonk, DeLand — 79
17. Jacob Roster, Matanzas — 80
18. Mattox Meeks, New Smyrna Beach — 81
T-19. Tucker Paldin, New Smyrna Beach — 82
T-19. Logan Levon, DeLand — 82
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school boys golf: Spruce Creek wins Volusia/Flagler Championship
