Lutz 2nd in conf. tourney

Published 10:16 am Thursday, September 29, 2016

Prince Edward County High School senior Henry Lutz once again proved himself to be one of the top young golfers in the area with his performance at the Quad Rivers Conference 34 tournament on Monday.

Lutz tied for second overall individually against conference foes at Kinderton Country Club in Clarksville with a 3-over-par 75 during an 18-hole round. The score easily qualified him for the regional tournament in Harrisonburg on Monday.

“It wasn’t my best, but I felt good that I was able to put together a good score,” Lutz said, “and it gives me confidence that no matter how I’m playing at regionals, I still have a chance to advance.”

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Every member of the first-place and second-place teams at the conference tournament automatically advances to regionals. Once those golfers are removed from the individual results, the top six remaining golfers also qualify individually. Lutz, who racked up medalist honors during the regular season, was the No. 1 golfer in that group of six.

“I thought Henry played very well,” Prince Edward Head Coach Michael Weaver said. “I think he had made an expectation to shoot even par, but that’s a hard course to do that on, but I think he got pretty close and did very well. I was very pleased with his performance.”

His 75 was the best tournament score he had ever produced at Kinderton. Last year, he won the conference tourney at Kinderton with a 76. He shot an even par 72 there earlier this year during a practice round.

The top individual score Monday was a 72 by Randolph-Henry High School’s Evan Mason, and it was Matthew Myers of the Statesmen who tied Lutz for second.

Lutz said he recorded one birdie and four bogeys, and he used his putter to save par multiple times.

As a team, Prince Edward finished seventh out of the seven teams competing, shooting a 437. Randolph-Henry won with a 305.

“We’ve got some guys that this is their first year,” Weaver said. “And they had a couple high scores, which they were disappointed with, but all in all, they were really good scores. It’s a boost to me to go, ‘Hey, you didn’t really do as bad as you think you did,’ because they’re playing against players that have played two, three or more years. So, I was pretty happy with what we did.”

The Eagles finished the regular season with a record of 3-13, two wins coming on the road and one coming at their new home course, The Manor Golf Club, which Weaver praised for its accommodation.

Lutz now turns his attention to the Region 2A East tournament, which will be held at Heritage Oaks Golf Course in Harrisonburg on Monday.

“I just want to go out there and play as close to my best as I can and see what score that comes out to,” Lutz said.

If he meets this goal, he will likely build on his 2015 regional performance.

“I played pretty close to the best I’d ever played up to that point, and I came in fifth in the regional tournament with a 78,” he said.

The requirements for state tournament qualification as an individual are the same as they were for individual regional tournament qualification at the conference meet.

“I feel he has a strong chance of making states again,” Weaver said of his team’s lone senior.

The Group 2A state tournament will also be held at Heritage Oaks on Oct. 10.