Tournament-record 69 gives MHS girls Red Devil golf win
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
On the opening weekend of the season, the Montgomery High girls golf team established itself as one that can be placed among the elite in the state.
Freshman Alice Chen shot a 4-under par 69, a new tournament record, to help the Cougars to the championship at the Red Devil Invitational. The tournament, which was held at Copper Hill in Flemington, featured some of the top programs in New Jersey.
Montgomery finished with a team score of 251, which was 12 shots better than second-place Ridge. In addition to Chen, the other two MHS player to score were Amanda Beer and Katie Lumsden, who each shot 91.
”We played really well,” Montgomery coach Jennifer Jones said. “Every kid has put up their best scores for themselves. It was a real good tournament for us. We came in third two years ago, but this is the first time we won.
”Alice’s 69 is a big-time golf score. The previous record for the tournament was a 72 by Marina Alex, and she went on to play at Vanderbilt. Alice has so much potential and she started the season with an amazing effort.”
But Chen was not alone in propelling the Cougars to the title. Beer and Lumsden were both at 91, while the other three Cougars all finished with scores in the 90s.
”We have a solid team,” Jones said. “They are all very consistent players. They set goals for themselves and some of them have already achieved those goals. So now I am trying to get them to realize they need to establish new goals for themselves.”
The Cougars opened their regular season with a rain-shortened win at Phillipsburg on Wednesday. They will have plenty of tough matches in the rugged Skyland Conference and already appear to be in mid-season form despite the less than ideal conditions to start the season.
”I have been pretty demanding of them so far,” Jones said. “We have already been out for nine rounds or so. The kids have sucked it up and played through some tough weather. We had five rounds for tryouts and some of those days it was 34 or 35 degrees. They are doing what they need to do to accomplish what they want to accomplish this year.
”Alice plays year-round and a lot of the other girls play in tournaments. Golf is about the time you put into it and they put in the time.”
Montgomery will host its own tournament full of top teams with the Cougar Classic on April 26 at Cherry Valley Country Club. That will be another chance to see where they stand amongst the state’s top programs.
”We have a very deep team,” Jones said. “The competition within the team for the top six spots is very competitive. They have the potential to do very well this season.”