COURTLAND—The Southampton High School golf team finished second in the district, in a year that coach William Whitehurst called a semi-rebuilding year, playing three freshmen and three juniors.

Park View ultimately won the Tri-Rivers district, but no team from the district advanced from regional play.

“I think we will improve next year – we’re a young team,” Whitehurst said. “We were competitive in a lot of matches, but in order to beat Park View, we are going to have to really practice over the summer.

“We’re going to have to go from shooting in the mid 40s, to shooting in the lower 30s.”

Whitehurst said everyone needs to shave four to five strokes off each round.

“We just need to tighten things up,” he said. “We had a good year, but I think you will see the scores drop next year.

“I think with experience and practice, we’ll lose the gap and be more competitive with Park View.”

Junior Brandon Munford led the team this year, averaging a score of 39 over the 9-hole district play. Hunter Peck, a junior, averaged a score of 41. Brendan Simms, freshman, rounded out the top three with an average of 47. The rest of the team consists of junior Andrew Hauser (52), freshman William Newsome (55) and freshman Jordan Cox (55).

“Brandon and Hunter are pretty good golfers – they were competitive with Park View,” Whitehurst said. “The trouble was often getting a good third or fourth score. Of your six scores, they take your top four. Park View always had four good scores. If the usual top four didn’t play well, the fifth and sixth golfers did.”

Of Newsome’s play in the 18-hole regional tournament, Whitehurst said: “William shot a 96, breaking 100 in miserable conditions, I was real proud of him. I’m looking for bigger things from here next year.”

Overall, Whitehurst said he was happy with how the year went, and that he was looking forward to getting back to practice.

“It was a pretty successful year, we just have to continue to improve,” he said. “We have to practice and work hard.

“I’m proud of the way the guys played this year, and the way they conducted themselves. They were humble in wins, and when they lost, it was with dignity. I’m always proud of that.”