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The LaGrange boys golf team has teed off the 2024 season. The Grangers took a six-hour journey to participate in the 2024 Camden Classic, finishing seventh out of 20 teams.

“We finished seventh overall and really we were the second place AAAA school with only Benedictine’s one team and two team finishing ahead of us,” head coach Ben Thrasher said. “We were the third-highest finishing public school.” 

Despite a good finish for the Grangers, Thrasher saw plenty of room for improvement.

“I am pleased with it being our first event of the year. I feel like we showed that we can post a decent score, even when we don’t play well,” Thrasher said. “It gives us something to grow on for the rest of the year. I feel like we’re 15 shots better than what we shot, if not a little bit more.

“I think we’ve got to clean up some wasted shots and approach shots. We didn’t do a good job with our approach shots, especially inside of 150 yards.”

It was a sophomore-heavy lineup as three of the top four scorers were second-year Grangers. Saxon Chastain, Hugh Kersey and Charlie Pitts. 

Chastain is the crown jewel of the program at the moment, coming off a season where he was named to the all-state team. Chastain shot a strong 76 on Saturday. Senior Ty Ormsby also shot a 76 and instead of splitting time between golf and soccer this year, he is solely focused on golf.

“We didn’t have Ty full-time last year, but he is not playing soccer this year, so we are excited to see what he can do with a full season with us,” Thrasher said. “We expect him to have a successful senior season.”

Chastain and Ormsby finished tied for 15th lowest individual at the tournament.  

Kersey and Pitts have taken big steps forward this season. The sophomore duo performed well at the Camden Classic as they shot an 85 and 86, respectively. Thrasher believes the two were not even at their best over the weekend.

“They have taken a step forward this year,” Thrasher said. “Kersey was a number three golfer last year and when talking about being 15 strokes better, 85 is a bit higher than we normally expect from him.”

The Grangers brought six golfers in total. Freshman William Petrus shot an 87 while senior Ben Woodham shot a 91. 

“We have some fluctuation as we have a handful of guys competing for three of the spots,” Thrasher said. 

One of the program’s best golfers, Grady Westmoreland, only sporadically plays with the team as he splits his spring sports season with the baseball team. 

“He’s probably our number two golfer, even though we don’t get him that much because he is so dadgum talented,” Thrasher said. 

LaGrange will host Upson-Lee for a nine-hole competition next Tuesday, weather permitting, before hosting the Ironman Challenge at Callaway Gardens on March 9. 

“It’s going to be a 36-hole one-day event between us, Carrollton and Rome,” Thrasher said. “I want us to go out there and compete hard. Carrollton is probably going to win state, and we just beat Rome by one stroke last week, so it should be good competition.”