The push to be among the top five to qualify for the Okanagan Valley championship for the Pen High Laker golf team began Tuesday.
Cam Gunning said the 22-person Laker team pursuing those positions will make for a good battle.
“It’s good to have the rivalries. It’s a lot of pressure,” said Gunning.
The Lakers, the lone AAA school to play in the South Okanagan High School golf tournament at Penticton Golf and Country Club, carded a combined 309. Princeton won for the A/AA schools scoring 335.
Laker Jordan Simpson carded a 75 to be the top low male, edging out teammate Cam Davie who finished with 76.
Princeton’s Chase Rempel was fourth at 77, while Lakers Jackson Coates and Jordell Afonso wrapped up the top five with scores of 78 and 80 respectively.
“I was pretty happy with the way I played,” said Simpson. “A couple of bad holes through a stretch there. Pretty solid for the first tournament. I know a left a lot of strokes out there but … I’m pretty happy to get the win.”
Going into his first tournament, Simpson said the challenge was staying focused and not worrying what the other players were doing.
Simpson liked how the Lakers performed and said he feels they have a good team that can hopefully make provincials.
Davie had to overcome first hole butterflies before the fun began for him.
“The first tee shot of the first tournament of the year is always kind of tough,” he said. “It was just fun. A fun day out there playing with my buds.”
Davie said the competition was tough and he also feels they have a strong team.
“You gotta shoot low scores if you want to get in that top five,” said Davie. “You really have to play your best.”
Afonso was very happy with his round of the tournament opener. Hitting the links a lot has helped improve his game.
“I was very consistent through all the holes, put on a good score,” he said. “I kept it on the fairway. I didn’t have to worry about trees or water or sand. Kept it down, straight.”
Afonso plans to build off that performance now that he knows he can do it.
“I gotta aim for it. Go for it every time,” he said. “Try to get lower and lower.”
The top low female was Pen High’s Jaimy Coates, while the runner up was Madison Boen Shekula of South Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver.
Closest to the pin winners were Jamie Fortune (SOSS), Antonio Mora (Osoyoos Secondary) and Pen High’s Kathryn Hollman. Long drive winners were Pen High’s Ashley Evanoff and Kaleb Mailey (OSS).
The next tournament is in Summerland on April 11 starting at 1:30 p.m.