Sports

Cavs grab commanding lead

• Jin Chung’s 72 leads Darton to a 28-stroke lead in the NJCAA Region XVII tournament.

Scott Chancey

HELEN — The desert is in sight.

With a commanding 28-stroke lead against Young Harris, Darton College’s golf team likely will win its seventh consecutive NJCAA Region XVII title today and have a chance for its fourth national crown in a row, this year in Phoenix.

The past three national crowns were won in Scottsboro, Ala.

Cavaliers coach Dale Dover, however, is not ready to give a victory speech just yet.

“I’m not even thinking about that yet until the tournament is through,” he said. “But we’re in a great position.”

Led by third-seeded Jin Chung’s even-par 72, the Cavaliers scored a 14-over 302 on an Innsbruck Golf Club course that presented more than its share of challenges. Narrow fairways, sloping greens and difficulties reading putt speeds kept any player from finishing under par.

Andrew’s No. 1, Slade Phillips, and Young Harris’ No. 1, Clifton Barton, are tied for second at 75, and the Cavaliers’ No. 1, Chesley Gunn, and No. 2, Matt Smith, are tied for fourth at 76.

Fourth-seeded Cavaliers golfer Coleman Calhoun is sixth with a 78, followed by Darton No. 5 Evan Hanna at eighth (81).

Truett-McConnell, the only other team with enough players to post a team score, is 33 strokes back at 335.

Chung was 2-under when he made the turn, birdying the seventh with a four-foot putt and the ninth with a 12-footer.

In all, he finished with three birdies and three bogeys. After three-putting the 11th and 12th holes for bogey, Chung birdied the 14th and then bogeyed the next. Chung regained his composure after that.

“I just told myself after that not to do anything stupid,” said Chung, who missed a birdie putt on No. 13 that would have led to an under-par finish.

Phillips, who has not won a tournament this spring, shot a first-round 71 in the spring tournament at Meadow Links but carded a 78 the next. At Innsbruck, he was 5 over during the front nine but recovered with two birdies the rest of the way “So far, things are good,” Phillips said of his play Monday. “I’ve still got another day. I’ve just got to stay calm and play my game, not do anything too risky.”

Taking into account that Innsbruck’s hilly conditions are not what the Cavaliers are used to playing on, Dover was happy with his top three scorers.

“A 75 is not a bad score,” he said.

Monday’s first round left Gunn, however, frustrated after three-putts led to three bogeys and a double-bogey on the 12th.

“I hit the ball well,” said Gunn, who parred every hole along the front nine. “I felt I also putted well, they just didn’t go in. Some spots on the greens didn’t have any grass, and they were bumpy, but everyone else had to play on the course too. The main thing, through every hole, is to keep the fire, but it’s hard to when you laugh after every putt.”

Smith also struggled with his putter, three-putting three of his first six holes. He finished with five bogeys and a birdie – which was on the par-3 No. 17, hitting a lob wedge to a foot and finishing it off.

“The greens are really sloped, fast downhill and really slow uphill,” Smith said. “I hit 14 greens, but if you don’t putt well, you’ll shoot a 76.”

Calhoun, who was a first-team All-American last year, was 1 under through nine holes and then struggled. He bogeyed the 11th and then triple-bogeyed the 14th and 16th.

“If I stayed away from the triple bogeys, that’s six shots right there,” Calhoun said. “I would have been at even par if it were not for that.”

Hanna’s day did not go any better, quadruple-bogeying the first.

“By the end of the round, I was just trying to get my score in the 70s and help the team,” he said.

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