St. Petersburg senior Jack Maguire is positioned to win a Class 2A individual state championship after a first-round 1-over 73 Tuesday at Deer Island Country Club in Tavares. Maguire is one shot behind Plant’s Brad White and Jacksonville Sandalwood’s Travis Trace with today’s round remaining.
The conditions during Tuesday’s round made Maguire’s score even more impressive. Morning temperatures were in the upper 40s with winds of more than 30 mph.
“That was a great round,” St. Petersburg coach Kevin Dyer said. “In those conditions par was more like 80. The wind was howling out there. So to shoot 73 was really impressive.”
St. Petersburg shot 324 as a team, tied for ninth and 15 shots behind leader Lakewood Ranch. Aside from Maguire, Jake Kevorkian shot 80, Daniel Weiss 83 and Zack Monawar 88.
The Green Devils still have hopes of a state title.
“We’re 15 shots back and it takes four scores, so it’s possible,” Dyer said. “If not, we can still finish in the top five.”
Palm Harbor University’s Brent Hajian shot 13-over 85 and is tied for 66th.
Class 2A girls: At Harbor Hills Country Club in Lady Lake, Palm Harbor University shot a team score of 373 and is 15th out of 16 teams. Senior Lauren Coe shot an impressive 77 and is tied for seventh. Coral Springs Coral Glades’ Carly Goldstein leads after 1-under 71.
Osceola’s Haydyn Gibson qualified as an individual and shot 80, tied for 16th.
Class A boys: At the Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Clearwater Central Catholic shot 347 and is tied for 14th. Ryan Orr shot 80 to lead the Marauders. Andrew Heric shot 87, Martin Fennemore 89 and Clayton Spilman 91.
Calvary Christian’s Zach Wood and Ben Murray qualified as individuals. Wood shot 81 while Murray shot 87.
Class A girls: At Mission Inn Resort and Club, Northside Christian shot 346 and is in 12th place. Alison Armstrong led the way with 80. Ashley Zagers had 87, Alyssa Lamoureux shot 88 and Ryanne Jackson had 91.
“We probably finished right about where we’re supposed to be,” Northside coach D.J. Jackson said. “It was so hard out there. Hopefully, the girls get off to a good start (today) and settle down.”
Lake Mary Prep’s Sierra Brooks shot 3-under 69 to lead after the first round. Clearwater Central Catholic’s Emma Paschal is in the individual tournament and shot 81, tied for 23rd.
Rodney Page can be reached at page@tampabay.com.