October 17, 2022 - Story by Joshua Ross, photos courtesy of Brad Lee
For the second year in a row, the Hingham High School boys golf team is back in the state finals. The Harbormen finished in third place in today's Division 1 South Sectionals with a score of 298, one shot out of second, and three shots out of first.
This tournament is different than the matches they have during the week. They played 18 holes, instead of 9 holes and they didn't get play with teammates. Each of the six players paired up with three golfers from different schools. The final team score was determined by the lowest four scores. Patriot League MVP junior Carson Erick led Hingham with a 1-under par 71. Sophomore Drew Golden was 1-ver par 73. Rounding out the top four were juniors Charlie Matthews and JD Flynn, who both shot 78. Senior captains Victor San Antonio and Bobby Peirce shot respectable 80's on the day.
"We were 14 over par today to qualify, compared to last year where we were 21 over par to qualify," said head coach Eric Gill. "I couldn't be happier for the kids. I don't think the 18 holes makes much of a difference. A lot of them play tournaments over the weekends. I do think not being paired up with a teammate, I think there is a little bit of stress in the beginning. Especially for the kids who have participated in the post season of high school golf. There were some nerves the first couple of holes."
Erick agreed that while the format was different, it was "hard to know how the team was doing until we all finished."
Dispite some of these challenges, the team performed pretty well on considering they only played one practice round yesterday at Easton Country Club.
"Today went great," Erick went on to say. "Our team was very confident going into the round given what a great season we had."
The Harbormen finished the season with a 15-1 record and the Patriot League Keenan Division title.
The Division 1 State Championships will be played at the Renaissance Golf Club in Haverhill next Tuesday. The format will be like today with Hingham entering six players with the lowest four scores counting towards the final score. Each one of the four sectionals of Division 1 will send three teams for a total of 12. In addition, the top 10% of individual scorers will compete for the individual state title. With their scores, Erick and Golden will both be competing for the individual title.
With the Sectionals being held in Easton, it was easy for the team to play a practice round. A little more difficult when the course is an hour and half away. Gill says at mimimim he would like to get out their Monday afternoon to at least have the kids "walk the course" to get some familiarity. Depending on their schedules, they will try for a practice round over the weekend.
Practice round or not, the same six players will now have know what to expect and be ready for the challenge.
"To win states next week, we all have to play our best," added Erick. "On any given day, each our my teammates can shoot even par or better."
They will be walking home with a state title if they can do that.
