Greenwood's Jaxon Moss hits from the fairway Thursday, August 3, 2017, during the South Warren Spartan Invitational at CrossWinds Golf Course. (Bac Totrong/photo@bgdailynews.com)

Bowling Green sophomore Collier Curd just needed a little help from his coach to overcome a rough start, then his teammates followed suit.

Curd won the boys’ individual crown with a 3-under par 69 and the Purples fired a 304 to finish runner-up to Franklin-Simpson in the team standings of the South Warren Golf Invitational at CrossWinds Golf Course on Thursday.

Curd bogeyed his first hole, then settled down to even par when BGHS coach Adam Whitt committed to following him the rest of the round.

“When I first started my round, it wasn’t going so hot,” Curd said. “Coach helped me throughout my round and I kind of settled down. If I hit a bad shot, he cooled me down and said go get the next one. Emotionally, he was supportive and helped me with the shots and drew a picture for me.”

After starting with two bogeys on his first five holes, Curd eased into the backside with birdies on the par-5 12th and 14th and par-4 15th.

His fifth birdie came on No. 2 and was just enough to hold off runner-up CM Mixon, who shot a 70 for South Warren.

Clark McDougal shot 5-over par 77, Eli Thurman had a 78 and Tristen Carter shot 80 to complete the Purples’ score.

Whitt said that other than Curd, each player was at least 6-over par after six holes before they recovered.

“We’re starting to get the maturity where if things don’t start well for us, we’re able to keep playing and keep the golf ball in front of us and hopefully at the end of the day that we’ll be there,” Whitt said. “We like where we’re at in this region right now and we know that if we play well enough, we should get out of it. … This was a big step toward that today.”

Franklin-Simpson won the team tournament by four strokes for its first victory this season. The Wildcats finished fourth at the Indian Hills Invitational and sixth at the Gator Invitational on Tuesday at Bowling Green Country Club.

Alex Gilbert and Brandon Fykes each shot 71 and Clay Spears fired a 74. Chase Wilson rounded out the team score with an 83.

“We played well today and this is what we expect,” FSHS coach Joe Grinstead said. “Our top three guys played the way they’ve been playing in practice. Those guys, that’s what we expect from them and they did great today.”

Allen County-Scottsville’s Owen Stamper shot a 70 to tie Mixon for second on the individual board. Mixon’s second-place finish followed up his victory in the Gator Invitational.

Daviess County finished third with a 307 and ACS was fourth with a 320. South Warren (324) and Greenwood (358) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Lady Gators keep rolling

The good times keep rolling early for the Greenwood girls’ golf team. The Lady Gators finished runner-up with a team score of 319, thought to be a new school record.

Marshall County’s Hallie Riley took first individually with a 69 and led the Lady Marshals to a team title with a 312.

Sydney Durrant shot an even-par 72 and Allison Wheeler shot a 76. Emily Morgan fired an 82 and Emma Harmon finished with an 89 two days after her career-best 88 in the Gator Invitational.

“If I could have that (score) every time, I’ll be the happiest coach in the history of coaches,” GHS coach Ashley Badgett said. “(312) is tough to beat. It was a long, slow day and they all hung in. I’m super proud of them.”

The second-place finish follows up a team title in the Gator Invitational. The Lady Gators opened the year with a fourth-place finish at Shelby County and a third-place spot at Glasgow on Monday.

“We’re doing really well,” Wheeler said. “In the past, Sydney has been taking over and I felt bad. We work together as a team now and we balance each other out. We took a lot of pressure off her back, which really helps us out now.”{&end}