Henry finishes third in tourney: Skyline golfer shoots 69 for top area score

By Chuck McGill -- cmcgill@nvdaily.com

Skyline's Zack Henry eyes a putt. Dennis Grundman/Daily Skyline's Zach Henry hits a chip from just off the green during the Curly Licklider Memorial tournament on Wednesday in Front Royal. Dennis Grundman/Daily

FRONT ROYAL -- The summer humidity combined with a long, six-hour trek -- sans golf cart -- across the hills of Shenandoah Valley Golf Club's blue and white courses had left Zack Henry's gold shirt drenched. His face carried a look of despair after he signed and turned in his card for 18 holes of play at the 8th annual Curly Licklider Memorial golf tournament on Wednesday.

Clearly, Henry had higher expectations for the first high school golf event of the season.

"I shot a 69," Henry said glumly.

It was the third best score of the tournament, and Henry was one of only three players to break 70. More than 140 players from 24 schools participated.

"I expected a little bit better," he added, "but I couldn't putt. It could've been a few shots lower."

Henry, a junior at Skyline, didn't become one of the area's top golfers by settling. He and teammate Ryan Rettberg competed in satellites and state tournaments all summer, and SVGA is the Hawks' de facto home course. The fact that Henry knows all the nooks and crannies of the course -- as well as his ability to take advantage of its shorter layout -- made coming away with anything but the top prize a bit of a disappointment.

"The course isn't very long and the greens were a little faster today, so you can really make some putts," Henry said. "My putts just didn't fall."

Loudoun Valley's Scott Davidson fired a 66 to take home top honors, which helped his team the overall title with a score of 289.

Briar Woods' Jon Howard finished with a 68 for second place, while Rettberg took home fourth with a 70.

Skyline also received an 89 from No. 3 player Zach Dove, and a 90 from sophomore Ryan Dyke to give the Hawks a team score of 318 -- just 29 strokes off the pace.

Not bad for a season that's three days old. Teams could not hold their first official practices for fall sports until Monday, leaving golf coaches scrambling to establish some semblance of order for the first foray onto the links.

Strasburg, which received a 78 from its top player, Derek Davis, has no seniors.

"We're very young," Rams coach Ricky Bowley said. "It's hard to say how this season's going to go."

That sentiment was echoed by a number of area coaches still trying to find the right combination of players. There simply hasn't been enough time to assess growth of returning players, evaluate newcomers and let some good-natured intra-squad competition take place, according to James Wood coach Al Smith.

Nic Cybulski led the Colonels with an 84, but Smith said his top six players were still bunched up. The lowest score for James Wood on Thursday was a 97.

"We're still getting used to it, but we did a lot of good stuff today," Cybulski said. "You come to a tournament this big, it's always fun. It was an awesome experience."

Sherando had no player shoot higher than a 91, but Hunter Strosnider stole the show with a 75.

"I was hittin' the ball good," he said, "but it was easy to score today. For the first tournament of the year, I'm not going to complain."

Handley had its top six shoot between 80 and 95, with Aubrey Wilkerson posting the team's best score. But the Judges are one of the few deep and experienced teams in the area this season.

"I'm blessed to have the top six back this year," Handley coach Tommy Arthur said.