By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The winds of change have blown in the face of Bedford North Lawrence’s fresh-look golf team, and that’s been a constant force from every direction this season. Then the Stars finally got home for a tournament, and the mean breezes of Otis Park were buffeting and twisting.
BNL, young and strong, ran against the wind, standing up to the downdrafts for an uplifting round during the annual BNL Invitational on Saturday.
Paced by Tyler Bellush’s 79, the Stars finished tied for fourth in the 15-team field with a total score of 329. Jasper won the title with 303, followed by Columbus East (324) and Columbus North (327). New Albany matched the Stars at 329, and even the fifth-man tiebreaker scores were identical.
With so much inexperience in the lineup, first-year head coach Trey Turner was unsure of this team’s potential. After some struggles with the headwinds, the Stars are showing signs of progress, and this performance was evidence of that. Bellush and others got off to slow starts, or hit unexpected snags mid round, yet showed some mental toughness to forge ahead. With each outing, they’re getting older and still running.
“That’s a pretty good score for tough conditions,” Turner said. “It was pretty windy, it was definitely a factor. I’m proud of the way the guys battled. We struggled early in the round but came back strong.
“We’ve made some big jumps. I think back to some tournaments and some of the struggles we dealt with, I’ve seen a lot of progress. We’re not making the same mistakes over and over again, which is a positive sign.”
Bellush could have been blown backward, starting the round 4-over after five holes. That’s not usually a sign of future success. But he came back with a birdie on the ninth, firing a wedge from 105 yards to two feet, and that settled him for the back nine.
“I finished the front nine well and got more consistent,” Bellush said. “I hit the driver pretty well, my approach shots were pretty good. I just left some shots out there with chipping and putting.”
Drew McKee could have blown off course. He birdied the fifth and was even par after seven holes, then played the last two on the front in a disastrous 14 shots. But he birdied the 16th and posted a 39 on the back to card 82. Parker Foddrill birdied the sixth and also carded 82, while Dillon Lewis capped the team scoring with 86.
“Tyler really turned it around and carried that over,” Turner said. “He’s not hitting it great, but he’s finding ways to get the ball in the hole. Drew got off to a really good start, fell apart, then got it back together and kept it strong. Parker played great all day, he was consistent.
“It took some time to get used to playing varsity golf. Once you get your legs under you, it’s just playing golf like a Sunday evening with your friends. They’re getting the hang of it, and they will continue to make strides.”
Jasper’s Caleb Schnarr was the medalist with a 1-over 73. He could have huffed and puffed after a double bogey on the first hole, but he came roaring back with five birdies on the front.
The Stars will visit Bloomington North on Tuesday.
