Freedom Golf Finishes 11th At States

After four consecutive District championships, the Freedom golf team took the next step and finally made it back to state, finishing 11th out of 16 teams at the Class 3A State Championships Oct. 25-26.

Playing on the El Campeon Golf Course at the Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, FL, the Patriots got strong outings from Cy Storlien, Cooper Smith and Tyler Bray to finish with a two-day team total of 646 strokes.

Nick Mitchell and Sam Smith both had big rebounds from Day One, shaving a combined 17 strokes from their scores.

Only six strokes separated the sixth-place team and the 11th-place team.

Tampa’s Plant High won the title with a score of 606.

The Patriots, who won their fourth straight District title under coach Mike Passarelli on Oct. 10 at Hunter’s Green Country Club, then took second at Regionals at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor a week later. Storlien was team medalist at both tournaments, shooting 73s while winning his second straight individual District title.

At State, the team started out strong.

On the opening day, Storlien, one of three seniors (along with Mitchell and Bray), birdied Nos. 2, 3 and 10 to go minus-1 after 10 holes on the 6,764-yard, par-72 course.

Storlien bogeyed the final two holes to finish the day with a 3-over par 75.

Cooper Smith was just as hot early, with five birdies in his first round, but struggled with consistency, mixing in three double-bogeys to finish with a 7-over 79.

Bray shot an 80 in the first round, which he duplicated in the second round.

Mitchell struggled with a 91 on day one, and Sam Smith shot a 95, but both Patriots came back strong on day two. Smith knocked 12 shots off his first round with an 83, and Mitchell shot an 86.

Storlien continued his consistent golf. He picked up birdies on the 420-yard No. 5 hole and the 347-yard No. 16, both par 4s.

Smith birdied the par-3 holes at No. 8 and No. 15 to finish with an 80 on the second day.

The trip to states was the second for Freedom. The Patriots also advanced to States in 2013, finishing last.