Darton golfers maintain firm control of lead after second day of Region 17 championships

ALBANY — Darton State College golfer Conner Watt scowled after missing a chance to birdie the 18th hole Tuesday in the second round of Region 17 championships at Stonebridge Golf and Country Club.

For the Cavaliers, it was one of the few moments when things didn’t go their way.

Darton blistered the course, finishing with a team score of 287 after firing a 292 on Monday. Tuesday’s efforts helped the Cavs open up a 29-stroke lead on second-place Georgia Northwestern, who shot a team score of 304 to give them a two-day total of 608.

Watt couldn’t duplicate the career-best 67 he shot on Monday, but he did finish with a 71, one under par on Tuesday.

“I hit the driver a lot better,” said Watt, who continues to lead individually with a two-day 138. “I wasn’t throwing as close to the hole as I was yesterday. But hopefully I can hold on, be the low medalist and help my team out as much as possible.

Darton’s Seth Sanders led the Cavaliers with a 70 on Tuesday after shooting a 75 in the first round. His 145 is good enough for second-place, two strokes ahead of ABAC’s Jeb Stewart (71-76).

Darton’s Hunter Tidwell and Georgia Northwestern’s Chase Cole are tied for fourth. Tidwell followed up the 73 on Monday with a 75.

Of Darton’s five golfers, 13 strokes separate Watt from Jake O’Bryan and Josh Glossop, who each have a two-day score of 151, good enough for a three-way tie for sixth-place with Georgia Northwestern’s Jordan Estes (77-74). O’Bryan rebounded from a 79 to finish at 72 on Tuesday, while Glossop improved from a 77 to a 74.

Outside of Darton, ABAC showed the most improvement, following up a 309 on Monday with a 302 on Tuesday, three strokes behind Georgia Northwestern.

Andrew is fourth after shooting a 304 for the second straight day, while Georgia Military College improved by five strokes to finish fifth.

“All five guys showed up to play today,” Darton coach Gary Hilton said. “We set a goal that we want to shoot under par for the tournament. We are three over for the tournament now. We have the mindset that we want to shoot a four under or more to finish under (par) in the tournament.”

Intermittent rain and winds have made the course conditions tougher, and there is a greater chance for rain today. Since the National Junior College Association mandates that region tournaments be at least 36 holes, a washout today would give the Cavaliers a 14th straight region title and another trip to the national tournament.

It isn’t the ideal situation for Hilton if it does rain since the Cavaliers want to continue their improvement.

Since the top five players make the all-tournament team and earn a trip to the national tournament, the Cavs would like at least one more round.

“These guys have an incentive to play as hard as they can every day,” he said. “But we had some really good scores today.”