Charlotte-area boys golf preview: Top players, teams to watch this season
Today, the Observer continues a look at spring sports athletes and teams in the region. Previews will continue throughout the week.
Charlotte Observer Boys’ Golf Teams to Watch
Ardrey Kell: The Knights’ return their entire lineup from a team that went 7-3 and was the 4A West Regional runner-up to Myers Park in 2021. Senior Jeremy Edmunds (fifth-place 4A West Regional, tied 26th at 4A states) and sophomore Benjamin Chase (sixth-place regionals; tied 31st at states) are back to lead the way for a team that tied for sixth at the 4A state championships last year.
Cannon School: The three-time defending NCISAA 4A state champions will have to reload as their top four golfers from the core of that title run are all playing college golf. This year, seniors Collins Jost and Austin Ward and sophomore Coleman Ward will look to keep the Cougars on top.
“We expect to win the state championship, that’s always our goal,” Cannon School golf coach Pat Whisenant said. “Our players all have the potential, we just have to prove it.”
Community School of Davidson: The three-time 1A state champions have a veteran club back with senior Jackson Maze (tied seventh at 1A states last year) and Connor Maddox (tied 12th) back to lead the way.
Charlotte Catholic: The three-time 3A state champions have a new challenge as they look to four-peat while moving up to class 4A.
The Cougars’ roster is once again loaded with talent, including Southern Carolinas’ conference and 3A Midwest Regional champion, senior Clay Tardif, along with highly touted freshmen Will Hartman and Will Guthrie.
Lake Norman Charter: The Knights have won back-to-back 2A state championships, but face a new challenge as they move up to class 3A this season. This year, seniors Ben Bailey and Will Dalton and junior Garson Long will lead a team eager to prove they can win big again.
“The kids talking about (winning) another ring,” Lake Norman Charter golf coach Eric Johnson said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but the possibility of winning (another state title) is there, and that will motive our guys to keep working hard.”
Myers Park: The Mustangs are moving to the SoMECK 4A after winning the Southwestern 4A title last season. Myers Park was also 4A Western Regional champ and finished third at states.
This season, senior Charlie Fetter (co-4A West Regional champion last year) and junior Eli Schmidly headline a Mustangs’ squad that expects to playing for championships (conference/regional/state) in April and May each year.
Charlotte Observer Boys’ Golf Players to Watch
Alex Bock, Freedom: The Patriots’ sophomore is looking to build on a standout freshman season when he won the 3A West Regional title and finished sixth at the 3A state championships.
Aidan Browning/Colin Salema, Providence: The Providence duo headlines a veteran team that lost only one player from the 2021 team.
Browning, a senior Appalachian State commit, is the defending, 4A West Regional champion. He tied for 10th at the 4A state championships.
Salema is a sophomore who was SoMeck 4A conference player of the year, 4A West Regional runner-up and also tied for 10th at states.
Drew Van Dyke, Carmel Christian: The Cougars’ all-state senior pairs with classmate Wills Melvin to give Carmel Christian a solid one-two punch.
William Gasty, Charlotte Country Day: The Buccaneers’ senior looks to improve on a 15th-place finish as state last year, where the Country Day team also took home a fifth-place finish.
Brandon Jones, Hickory Ridge: The Ragin’ Bulls senior, a Ferrum University (VA) commit, is a four-year starter that led his team in scoring average last year (42.0 per nine holes).
Jonathan Jones, Lincoln Charter: The Eagles’ all-state performer (tied for seventh at 1A states last year) is back to lead Lincoln Charter team that was 1A West Regional runner-up and finished fourth at the 1A state meet a year ago.
Landon Merrell, East Rowan: Mustangs’ standout won the North Piedmont conference and Rowan County player of the year awards as a freshman.
Davis Sayman, Charlotte Latin: The Hawks’ junior shot a 6-under-par 66 to win the NCISAA 4A individual state title last year. He made seven birdies on the back-nine at the Farm Course at Greensboro Country Club.
This year, Sayman is looking for a repeat performance as he leads a Charlotte Latin team with all-state senior Wilson Thrift who won the CISAA conference title and finished third at the NCISAA 4A state championships in 2021.
Will Spicer, Kings Mountain: The Thomas Jefferson Academy transfer is the defending 1A Western Regional champion, 1A state runner-up, now looks to prove he can contend in class 3A’s biggest events.
Caleb Surratt, Union Academy: The University of Tennessee commit, a Cardinals’ senior, looks to three-peat after back-to-back 1A state individual championships.
Surratt, currently the No. 1 junior player in the state (according to Tarheel Youth Golf Association (TYGA)).
Spencer Turtz, Providence Day: The Chargers’ senior is Wisconsin commit. The all-state also qualified for the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur Match-Play team.
Charlotte Observer Boys’ Golf Interesting Notes
Charlotte Catholic fresh faces: The three-time, defending state champions could be even better this season with two of the top ranked freshman in the state, including Will Hartman (also ranked in the top 10 nationally in the class of 2025) and Will Guthrie (also ranked in the top 50 nationally), according to Charlotte Catholic golf coach Shawn Panther.
Hole-in-one: East Mecklenburg senior Jaysen Anderson had one of the highlights of the 2021 high school season when he had a hole-in-one on the 162-yard par 3 No. 4 at Olde Sycamore Golf Plantation last March.
Anderson, who averaged a team-best 50 per nine holes, looks to be improved in his final high school season.
State Champion: Cannon School golf coach Pat Whisenant now has 13 state championships between the Cougars’ boys’ and girls’ golf programs, including eight titles with girls and five with the boys’ squad.
This story was originally published February 21, 2022 at 6:00 AM.