Embarking on their first tournament, the boys varsity golf team finished third out of nineteen in their opening tournament at Thornapple Pointe Country Club. With a young roster led by senior captain Peyton Fester, the team of nine looked to get off to a hot start on day one of competition.

“I was making some putts early on, and it’s a good feeling when you have that to get your round kick-started,” said Peyton, who’s been on the varsity team his past two seasons. “From that point on, I was very confident on the greens.”

The senior captain led by example, shooting a 79 through eighteen. Peyton posted the top score for his team and finished seventh individually out of the ninety-two competing. Freshman Isaiah Huempfner shot an 80 on the day, coming in at second for the Ranger golf team. Junior leader Jack Lorenz also pulled his weight, slotting a score of 81 for FHC.

“We played solidly as a team,” Jack said. “We only lost by six strokes, and we could shave some of those shots off easily. Thornapple Pointe hosts regionals this year, so it’s nice that we had the chance to play on it now if we hope to compete down the road. It was nice to have such a strong outing in our first competition.”

Although FHC posted good numbers in their opening round of the season, it wasn’t enough for them to break the top two. With a team score of 322 strokes, FHC fell narrowly behind FHE with a score of 321 and Rockford with 316.

“Today the team played very well,” Peyton said. “We came in only one stroke behind FHE and beat our rivals FHN. It feels good to be in the mix and play competitively. Going forward, we showed that we’re competitors and that we need to focus on every shot.”

Although the Rangers placed third on Thursday afternoon, FHC still has a lot of work to do in several aspects of their game.

“We need to focus on converting when weA?re on the green and control what we can,” Jack said. “Focusing on every shot and taking it swing by swing will be key.”

With a season full of competition ahead of them, the FHC varsity golf team will look to topple last year’s finish and make a run come tournament time.

“All things considered, today was a great stepping stone for our young team on our way to a great season,” Peyton said.