By JOSH BURRIS
Bluffton’s boys’ golf team returned to the course in 2021 with a strong season, finishing third in the ACAC championship and fourth at its sectional match.
The Tigers shot a 368 at ACAC, which was just three strokes behind first-place Heritage, and shot a 377 at sectional, which was just three strokes away from advancing to regional.
Coach Steve Abbett said with the 2020 season being cancelled, it brought about a team in 2021 that did not have a lot of experience playing golf. Outside of that, the season went about as normal as usual.
“It felt great getting back on the course last year after the year off,” Abbett said. “I think we were somewhat unique in that we only had one returning golfer, so it was all brand new to most of my golfers. It obviously hurt not having the experience they would’ve gained the year before, but it really didn’t feel all that different.”
Junior Keegan Schwartz led the way for the Tigers last season as a sophomore. He shot a 74 at ACAC to finish as the conference champion, and shot a 76 at sectional to finish third overall and advance to regional. Abbett said they have not gotten to be on the course that much just yet due to some bad weather, but that Schwartz has picked up right where he left off last season.
The Tigers have a larger group this year that includes 14 golfers. However, only five can play in the varsity lineup.
Joining Schwartz on varsity to start the year off will be senior and fellow varsity returner Alec Reiff and freshmen Ephraim Frauhiger and Kade Abbett.
Coach Abbett said the fifth spot is still up for grabs. Frontrunners include juniors Draven Dull – who was on varsity last year – and Ethan Hunt, and freshmen Cooper Klepfenstein and Anthony Hartman.
Abbett sees a lot of potential in this year’s team and they will begin to set goals for themselves once they get some more rounds in on the course.
“I think we have an abundance of potential. Even though we have several new golfers, they all have experience and golf knowledge,” he said. “I’m eager to see how some of our veterans and newcomers progress and get better throughout the year. With our bigger number this year having 14 players, I’m excited to see how they push each other in practices and matches.”
Abbett hopes if they reach their potential that they can be in the mix for the ACAC again this year. Heritage shot a 365 to win last year, and Jay County followed at 367.
Abbett said he expects those teams to continue to contend this year.
“If I had to guess, I would say that Jay County and Heritage will be at the top again,” Abbett said. “I’m hopeful that we could be somewhere in that mix as well, but again, it’s hard to tell at this point.”
Besides the conference match, Abbett said he really enjoys competing against all the teams on their schedule. He said the coaches and players in the area are a great bunch to play golf with.
“I really enjoy all of the teams on our schedule. The coaches and players are always fun to be around and compete against,” he said. “All of the invites and 18 hole matches are great too. The South Adams Invite and the Bi-County Tournament are something I always look forward to.”
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