GANNON's Simmons RockwellCayga Health Guthrie Sports Med Southern Tier Sports ReportDANDY MINI MARTS FIRST HERITAGE FCU WILLIAMS AUTO GROUPColdiron



HIGH SCHOOL BOYS' GOLF: CREATH, LAHIRI WRAP UP H.S. CAREERS AT STATES; SECTION IV GOLFER FROM U-E WINS TITLE (24 PHOTOS) (2023-06-05)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
ELMIRA — For Corning’s Jack Creath and Nishant Lahiri the past two days were a special experience as they got to wrap up their high school careers with their first trip to states.

In the end the results weren’t exactly what either wanted, but it didn’t diminish how special the experience was.

“It was very fun being here,” Lahiri said. “I came in with an open mentality. Play good, play bad, be happy either way. It was really special. Especially as my last year, it means a lot to even come out here.”

For Creath the experience was something even more amazing than he imagined.

“It was pretty cool,” Creath said. “It was a lot bigger than I expected. A lot of people here. It was definitely a time to remember.”

Having both Corning golfers at states made the whole experience more fun.

“It was really nice,” Lahiri said. “Especially two coming from Corning, the only school from Section IV sending two to the state tournament. It means a lot, it’s good to have someone by my side.”

Creath finished 55th overall, shooting a two-day total of 155 with rounds of 84 and 81. He had birdies on 12 and 17 on Sunday and 11 and 17 on Monday as he birdied 17 both days.

Lahiri was 71st, shooting 87-83 for a 170. He had a birdie on the fourth hole Monday.

“I played okay, definitely left some shots out there,” Creath said.

On Sunday the golfers dealt with huge wind gusts that made everything tough. Lahiri started his Sunday with an approach shot on the 10th hole, his first hole of the day, that landed on the green and sat there for a few minutes. A minute before Lahiri was ready to play his next shot the ball rolled off the green.

“My goodness, all I was thinking was how bad is this wind,” Lahiri said. “I thought it was there and then it rolled off.

“It (the ball) just took off. I guess the moral of the story was just mark your ball as fast as you can.”

The wind made golfers adjust their games.

“It was super tough, it was changing all the time, making tee shots hard, and the greens too,” Creath said. “I tried to keep the ball real low and just out of the wind as much as I could.”

For Lahiri the tough wind helped him learn some things.

“Certainly yesterday (Sunday), I had to learn how to control my yardage a little better with the wind and against the wind, so I learned a little bit,” Lahiri said.

While the wind made things tough, Lahiri knows the biggest problem was he just didn’t play well enough.

“It was awfully tough, what was tougher was the golf itself,” Lahiri said. “I could have played better, I could have managed the wind better.”

Playing at states for the first time meant a chance to meet some people from other sections.

“It was pretty cool to get to know some people from all around the state,” Creath said.

Both Corning golfers may consider playing club golf in college, but this is likely it for varsity golf. For Lahiri he knows things will be different, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to play the sport again.

“It feels like it’s the end, but it’s really not,” Lahiri said.

A Section IV golfer won the title as Union-Endicott’s Dante Bertoni won with a birdie in a playoff to top Brody Burgess of Victory. Bertoni shot a two-day total of 146 with matching rounds of 73 each day.

Section IV finished fifth as a team with a two-day total of 1,118. They shot 554 the first day and 564 the second day.
——
IN TOP PHOTO: Corning’s Jack Creath. . . PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES


You've asked about helping ...
here's your chance. Click HERE