Vikings and Wildcats top Upper and Lower state 5A Qualifying

By golfclubsc on May 6, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

The Spartanburg Vikings shot an even par round if 288 to take the top spot in the AAAAA Upper State qualifying tournament played at Cobbs Glen in Anderson, The Viking team included Hugh Lemonds, Ben Fulmer, Connor Williams, Emmet Walsh and Davis Petty, (Spartanburg Photo)

Instead of calling them Vikings, you might want to call them the Spartanburg “”Consistents” meaning only the best possible reason for the nickname.

Spartanburg has had a good season and been close to posting an eye popping tournament result, but until the Upper State qualifying they have been the team just waiting for a chance and it came at Cobbs Glen,

The Vikings shot an even par 288 total to slip by the defending state AAAAA champions from Hanna, on their home course, to earn the top spot at the Upper State Qualifying tournament.

Keep in mind there are no medals, trophies or banners for finishing on top in Upper and Lower state golf.

A good question is why isn’t there?

Just about every other sport brags about winning an Upper or Lower State title, but that is a discussion for another time.

The only thing you win in this tournament is the ability to go to the state championship next week at the Country Club of Lexington, just as six other teams did on Monday,

The confidence and momentum the Vikings gained from their best performance of the year could not come at a better time.

“We have been consistent” said Viking’s coach Todd White. “We’ve played well and gotten a little better all year. I can’t tell you how proud I am of the team and what they did today,,” ssaid the coach.

White’s “consistent” team includes senior Hugh Lemonds (73) and juniors Connor Williams (74) and Ben Fulmer (71) who have experience.

Two very young newcomers have added some punch to the consistency of the rest of the lineup.

Seventh grader Davis Petty shot a 2-under par 70 while eighth grader Emmett Walsh shot a 77.

“To get those kind of rounds out of our two new players really helped. Even though we didn’t use Emmett’s score today there are a lot of tournaments were a 77 would be important,” said White,

Even by sliding into second place in the qualifying tournament, no one is counting the defending champions out of a possible repeat.

“Our goal was to make it to state. Winning the Upper State is kind of the cherry on top for us, ” added White.