Carrick claims county golf title for Howell

Corey Carrick knew better than to think that he was out of contention. The Howell High School junior was three over par through the first five holes at the 2009 Monmouth County Tournament being played on the par 72 Hominy Hill Golf Course in Colts Neck.

On a normal day that might not be too many strokes to give up to the field to be a contender for the championship.

However, this year's county tournament was played on a cold, overcast day with winds gusting up to 30 mph. Added to that was rain that had soaked the course. The golfers were not getting any roll on their drives and that was making the course play longer.

"I knew the scores would be up," said Carrick. "It was a hard day to score. I just had to keep on going. I knew I could stay in contention."

Carrick did more than just stay in contention. He rallied on the back nine thanks to a magical putt and won the 2009 Monmouth County title on April 23 by carding a twoover round of 74. Dylan Porter of Shore Regional High School, West Long Branch, was four strokes back. Only three golfers broke 80.

"It was a really difficult day to score and he beat the field by four strokes," Howell golf coach Tim Hogan said.

In rallying on the back nine, Carrick thought about what he had learned at last year's Shore Conference Tournament. He double-bogeyed two holes on the front nine and shot a 41, but he came back to go two under par on the back nine.

That experience, he said, gave him the mental toughness to fight through tough starts. It came in handy at the county tournament.

Carrick's round hinged on a pair of 12- foot par putts on the back nine. Sitting at four over par heading to the 11th hole, he saved par out of the sand. On No. 13 he curled in another 12-foot putt to stay at four over.

"They were two crazy pars," said Carrick. "That gave me momentum."

Carrick rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 15 and he followed that with a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 16 to get to two over with two holes to play.

"He just got it going," said Hogan. "He's very streaky."

The greens at Hominy Hill were playing very fast and that suited Carrick perfectly. He said his putting (27 putts total) was the difference in the tournament.

"It's easier to read the line [on fast greens]," said Carrick. "The ball rolls smoother."

When everyone was in, Carrick had become the Howell High School golfer to win the Monmouth County championship.

"It's a confidence booster," Carrick said of his victory. "My expectations are very high and it was a relief to win it. It's nice to give Howell some recognition."

Hogan marveled at how far Carrick has come in three years.

"In his freshman year he couldn't hit it anywhere straight," the coach said. "I had no idea what he could do. I knew that he was an athlete. He worked hard by himself after that year and came back last year and was an All-Shore Conference golfer."

Carrick worked every bit as hard this year and returned as a champion.

"I played baseball and soccer, and in my freshman year I played football," he explained. "I gave it (football) up. I always liked golf and then I started to get good at it."

Once that happened, all of Carrick's focus was on golf. He played every day last summer. During spring break this year he was in Florida with his family and played every day. All of those efforts proved to be the perfect tuneup for the Monmouth County Tournament.

Led by Carrick's fourstroke victory in the individual standings, Howell finished second to Christian Brothers Academy, 330 to 335, in the team standings at the county tournament.

The county tournament provided a measure of revenge for top-ranked CBA, which lost to Howell earlier in April in a Shore Conference A North Division dual match. Howell, meanwhile, was looking to top the Colts in a tournament.

"We wanted to get them at the county," said Hogan.

Tom Martino was Howell's second scorer, shooting 84 and tying for 14th place. One stroke behind Martino was Trevor Rockhill, who shot 85 and tied for 19th place. Eric Hofman rounded out the Rebels' scoring with a round of 92.

Howell's next shot at CBA was scheduled to come on May 4 at the Shore Conference Tournament at the Eagle Ridge Golf Course in Lakewood.

"We won the (A North) last year and we want more this year," said Hogan. "We want to win a tournament title."

Howell took charge of the A North Division race on April 30 when the Rebels beat CBA for the second time this season, 150 to 153, on the Colts' home course, Pebble Creek in Colts Neck.

In the nine-hole match, Carrick shot 36 to lead the Rebels. Rockhill (37), Martino (38) and Billy Fitzpatrick (39) completed the scoring for Howell, which improved to 8-1 overall and 7-0 in A North.

Also at the Monmouth County Tournament, Colts Neck High School's Pete Inglese placed fourth with a round of 80. He helped the Cougars finish fourth (344) in the team standings. Nick Polvino shot 85 and tied for 19th place for Colts Neck, and Andrew Schonholtz shot 88 and tied for 34th place.

Manalapan High School's Pat DiLeo tied for fifth place with an 81. The Freehold Regional High School District had three of the top five scorers.

Freehold's Ricky Morgan was 13th with an 83, while Marlboro's Keith Markowitz tied for 14th place with an 84.

Among those in the logjam for 21st place were Freehold Township's Joe Caiola, Manalapan's Brandon Mongiello and Marlboro's Evan Zorn. The all shot 86.

The top 40 golfers at the county tournament qualified to compete at the Shore Conference Tournament.

The Central Jersey-South Jersey Group IV state sectional tournament will be held May 11-12 at the Linwood Country Club near Atlantic City. The deadline for teams to have a winning percentage of .700 or better to qualify for the event was April 29. Howell and Colts Neck (7-2) were the FRHSD teams that qualified. DiLeo, from Manalapan, qualified to compete in the state sectional as an individual.