Carson golf takes third

He leads Carson golf to third

GENOA — Dalton Butler shot 3-under-par 69 and Carson finished third as a team on Wednesday during the season-opening Sierra League boys golf tournament held at Genoa Lakes Golf Club.

Butler played a consistent round to finish in a tie for second-place and only one shot behind individual medalist Nick Turner of Bishop Manogue. The three-time defending Northern Division I Region Tournament champion Manogue Miners carded a 3-under par team total of 357 to win the tournament, while Galena edged Carson 403-407 to take second-place on the Ranch Course.

Carson coach Rod Butler was pleased with the performance of the Senators on a mild and relatively wind-free day.

“For our first event out, they played very well,” Butler said of the Senators’ performance. “My goal was for us to finish with two scores in the 70s and three in the 80s … and we came pretty close to that.”

Senior Jake Jones and sophomore Robert Martinez both shot 80, Matt McCarthy 88 and sophomore Lakoda Smokey 90 to round out the scoring for Carson. Casey Stevens finished with a non-scoring 106.

“Jake and Robert both had opportunities to get in the 70s, they just missed a few putts,” coach Butler said. “Jake had a triple (bogey) early in his round, so he did a good job of holding it together mentally the rest of the way.”

Dalton Butler played a solid round in which he was “consistent off the tee” and consistent with putting and chipping. The senior’s highlight came on the 527-yard No. 18 when he carded an eagle-3.

“He knew what he was up against it and to be right there with those two Manogue guys, that’s a successful outing,” coach Butler said.

“His goal was to shoot under par. He figured if he did that, he’d have a good chance to win.”

It still wasn’t enough to catch Turner, the defending region tournament champion who has signed to play at Army. Turner shot 33 over his final nine holes, highlighted by a 20-foot chip shot from the edge of the green for eagle-2 on his 14th hole (the 301-yard No. 5 after starting from the 10th hole).

Manogue’s Harrison Hoeltz tied Turner for second-place at 69. Ollie Osborne also finished fourth at 72 and Karl Beidle was fifth at 73 for the Miners.

Tournament host Douglas finished fourth as a team with its 435 score. Colin Brooks shot 78 and sophomore Jarod Enter 81 to lead the Tigers.