High school boys golf preview

Middletown Christian’s Brooks Curry, Fenwick’s Alex Nikias qualified for state in ’08; now they’re eyeing another run

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By John Bombatch, Staff Writer Updated 10:59 AM Tuesday, August 11, 2009

MIDDLETOWN — If their first school assignment is to discuss what they did over the summer, Middletown Christian School’s Brooks Curry and Fenwick’s Alex Nikias will have a lot to talk about.

Both golfers racked up impressive finishes in summer tournaments and are excited for the 2009 high school golf season.

Curry, a sophomore, finished sixth in the Division III state tournament and led the Eagles to their first-ever team berth at state.

“I don’t really feel any pressure to get back there this season,” Curry said. “I just want to go out there and play my own game. We’re all in this to have fun and that’s what I want to do this season — go out there, play hard and have fun.”

This summer, Curry won the Middletown Junior Stroke Play tournament and finished fourth in the city men’s amateur. He also finished 13th in the Ohio Junior Golf Championship.

Nikias, who finished 11th in the Division II state tourney last year, won a Southern Ohio PGA event and qualified for the Junior Optimist tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. this summer. The senior said he doesn’t feel much pressure to excel in his final high school season.

“No, not really. I know that we’ll have a younger team at Fenwick, but we’ve really worked hard so far,” Nikias said. “This year might be about working with the younger guys, but I’m really looking forward to it.”

Nikias and Curry haven’t let their recent success go to their heads. Both players have been working hard on their game.

“My game goes as my putter goes,” Curry said. “That’s what I’m working on the most right now.”

Nikias was working on the mental aspect of his game.

“I’m trying to eliminate the mental mistakes that can come up in terms of course management, that sort of thing,” he said. “It’s very difficult to do, because it’s easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment. I just need to work on staying on top of it.”

The high school golf season — boys and girls — began Monday, Aug. 10.

The D-III boys state tournament will be played Oct. 16-17 on Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course in Columbus. The D-II tourney will be contested that same weekend at the North Star Golf Resort in Sunbury. The Division I tournament will also be played on the Scarlet Course on Oct. 23-24. The girls D-II (Oct. 16-17) and D-I (Oct. 23-24) events will be played on OSU’s Gray Course.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.

Other players to watch

Conor O’Hea, Middletown: Junior had a 39.5 nine-hole scoring average last season
Jake Fletcher, Middletown: Junior had 39.8 nine-scoring average last season
Ricky Denny, Valley View: Senior was a first-team, All-SWBL Southwest Division honoree last year
Allie Lawwill, Middletown: Sophomore was second-team All-GMC and a district qualifier in ’08.
Abbie Birchwell, Middletown — Senior was second-team, All-GMC selection last season.

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