Rapp ends round with birdie; Mooney girls in sixth place
Staff report
COLUMBUS
Poland senior golfer Alex Rapp’s final stroke on Friday has him excited for his final round of varsity golf.
Rapp sank a birdie putt on the No. 18 hole to lift him into a five-way tie for eighth place in the Division II boys golf state tournament at Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course.
Rapp finished with 78, seven strokes behind Bexley’s Trevor Binau, who has a four-stroke lead on Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy’s Jack Sonne.
“It was OK,” said Rapp, who is making his second straight appearance in the state tournament. “I left a lot of shots out there, my iron play was not where I wanted to be.”
Rapp’s round came on his second time playing the Scarlet Course. His first time was Thursday’s practice round when he played with Binau.
“He’s phenomenal,” Rapp said of the leader, who was the only golfer to break par in the opening round. “It didn’t surprise me when I heard what he shot. He really must have been hitting his spots.”
Last fall, Poland’s team qualified. Rapp said playing as an individual qualifier is “different. I miss playing with my team a lot.”
Two of his teammates — Jake Snyder and Maguire Franko — were there to cheer him on.
On his final hole, Rapp said his drive was OK but he hit a straight 9-iron to put him about 20 feet from the hole.
“I was excited to see that putt drop,” Rapp said.
So was his coach, Dave DiGiacomo.
“He had a great round,” DiGiacomo said. “He shot a 39-38, very consistent.
“He birdied his last hole, his only birdie of the day. That has to be a great confidence builder.”
DiGiacomo said the course was wet in some areas so the tournament used “lift, clean and place” rules.
“That helped the competitors, there were some low scores,” DiGiacomo said.
MOONEY GIRLS
The Cardinal Mooney girls team shot 371 to tie for sixth place in the state tournament at Ohio State’s Gray Course.
Also shooting 371 were New Paris National Trail and Shaker Heights Laurel. Twelve teams are competing.
Lima Central Catholic leads with 331, seven strokes better than Shelby.
Hadley Spielvogel led the Cardinals with 86. That has her tied for 21st overall.
Jayne Bernard’s 89 tied her for 26th. Mooney’s other golfers are Alexandria Patrone (97), Alyssa Rapp (99) and Grace Ogden (105).
Alyssa Rapp is Alex Rapp’s younger sister.
This is the first time for all of the Cardinals to compete at the state tournament.
“Hopefully, we got all the first-day jitters out of the way,” said Mooney golf coach Mary Theresa Bellino. “We’re looking forward to having a better day tomorrow.”
Kansas Lakota’s Kyleigh Dull and Laurel’s Jami Morris are tied for the lead with 73.