The FA Knights Varsity Golf team was back in action on Saturday, March 5, competing in the 2022 Johnny Paulk Invitational on Jekyll Island. Roy Boyd, Travis Cavalier, Parker Jules, Ramie Shingler, and Robert Stephens represented Frederica Academy.
Roy Boyd, FA captain, led the charge early, starting with back-to-back birdies, and getting to -4 early in his round. A poor tee shot led to a bogey on 18, his 9th hole, which dropped him to -3 at the turn. I was so pumped for Roy. He needed a good round for his own confidence. So, I was very happy to see him playing so well early in the round. His demeanor was the same as normal, but he seemed to walk with a little more confidence. His confidence carried throughout much of the round, and even when things didn’t go as expected, he found ways to stay the course and grind out a great round. By the day’s end, Boyd had a solid round that consisted of 8 birdies and 5 bogeys. He finished with a score of three under, 69. Roy noted, “I felt good throughout the day, and knew I was going to play well. I told Ramie before the round started that I would be shooting in the 60s, and I did just that! My long game was solid, but what really helped me was the cup looked to be a foot wide, and I drained everything.”
Playing as Frederica’s number 2 player was Travis Cavalier. Travis’s round got off to a shaky start, going bogey on 10 and double on 11. However, his mental toughness steadied the ship somewhat through the middle part of his opening 9. He made a phenomenal par on the par 5, 15th after spraying his drive right. A punch out from under trees and a bunker save had the gallery hopeful that he would turn his round into something positive. A three-putt on 16 after two good shots into the green left him feeling a bit frustrated. Nonetheless, he had an entire 9 to turn things around. His back nine was much better in comparison to his opening nine. He settled down overall in comparison to the front and put together a lot of good pars. His inward 38 was 5 shots better than his front. That’s a great bounce-back.
Parker Jules, playing as FA’s number three player, played very solid on her opening 9. She made the turn at +6, but four of those shots came on two rough holes. So, I was pleased with what we were getting out of her. She’s a great talent. She played from the same tees as the boys and did better than a lot of them. To say I’m proud of her is an understatement. Parker Jules is a great academic student, and she shares a passion between golf and horses. Parker ended up having a rough stretch on the front, much to do with her driver. She said, “I didn’t feel like I hit it all that bad today. I struggled off the tee and ended up having to hit a lot of punch shots from trees.” Parker ended up shooting an 87.
Ramie Shingler, who has spent some time playing with Frederica’s top 5 in the first two tournaments of the year, gave FA some quality scoring opportunities. Ramie spent a good part of his round at -1. His birdie on his second hole, the par 5 11th, was perfect execution. He hit the fairway dead center, hit a great layup shot, hit an average wedge to about 15 feet, and made the putt. A similar strategy throughout his front nine had him sitting well throughout much of his opening 9. Shingler commented that he wasn’t hitting the ball much better than his previous two tournaments, but he felt better on the greens. After chunking two wedges on the par 4, second hole that led to bogey, Shingler bounced back with a dart to the par 3, third. He doesn’t seem to stress too much about poor shots. He does a very good job of leaving it in the past. He just does his thing. His 39-40, totaling 79, wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but when asked about his round, Shingler said, “My long game was bad, but my short game was baller!”
Rounding out the Frederica five was Robert Stephens. Robert qualified himself into the event, firing two solid rounds during practice. The great thing about the FA Golf program is there’s talent from top to bottom. Naturally, it forces guys to play well because everyone has talent. So, to qualify for these events you have to play well. Robert is not the biggest guy, so he doesn’t have the length that many of our players do. It really forces his short game and he’s improved in this area. His chipping and putting have gotten better. Robert made the turn at +7, and shot +7 coming in. He totaled for a 86.
All in all, the players played very well and represented Frederica with class. Like any round, they all hit way more quality shots than the ones they’d like to forget. Coach Roberts and Coach Willis are proud of their efforts, and know they will reflect on the areas they can improve on. The total for the team was 315.
Comments from Coach, Tom Willis '86: “Roy played very well and for him, that was his low for Frederica. What a great bounce back after a couple of rough tournaments for us. It helps when you have eight birdies. That’s really strong and getting it done. Ramie was also pretty solid. He wasn’t really striking the ball all that well but made good putts and minimized damage with his short game all day for a solid score. Robert did a great job with his pitches. From that yardage, it was a solid performance as there were several par fours he couldn’t reach in regulation.”
Roy Boyd: 69 (Personal Frederica career low)
Travis Cavalier: 81
Parker Jules: 87
Ramie Shingler: 79
Robert Stephens: 86
Go Knights!
Coach Kevin Roberts
