So far, there have been no surprises for South Warren girls’ golf coach Eric Holeman.

Three tournaments into the season, the Spartans have done exactly what their coach expected of them on the course. Favored in both the season-opening Lady Bruin Invitational on Friday in Elizabethtown and again Saturday in the Taylor County Invitational, Holeman’s team came through with victories in both tournaments.

The competition got a little tougher Monday in the Lady Gator Invitational at Bowling Green Country Club. A 16-team field featured state title contenders Lexington Christian Academy and Sacred Heart Academy – and the Spartans.

“We knew this tournament would have good competition and we’d see where we stack against the best in the state,” Holeman said. “I knew we were going to hang with them. Some days you might get them, some days you don’t.”

Monday was a don’t for the Spartans, who combined for a 327 to finish third. Lexington Christian picked up the team championship with a 303 to finish 15 shots ahead of Sacred Heart (318).

Lexington Christian’s Laney Frye beat teammate Delia Gibbs for medalist honors in a scorecard playoff after both shot an even-par 72.

Spartans junior Faith Martin, already a tournament winner this season at the Lady Bruin Invitational, posted her team’s top finish with a 3-over par 75 despite struggling with shot placement most of the day.

“It looked like I shot a 95, but in reality it was a 75,” Martin said. “I didn’t hit many fairways, didn’t hit the greens at all. So it could’ve been much worse if I didn’t make some par saves.”

South Warren’s McKenna Stahl, who won the Taylor County Invitational on Saturday, tallied a 76 and teammates Lauren Holeman (85) and Abbie Cline (91) rounded out the scoring.

“I think this team is really capable of doing anything we set our minds to, so this is just a good confidence booster and backing up our thoughts with numbers,” Martin said.

Abbie Lee’s 76 paced Glasgow to a fifth-place finish (348). Also scoring for the Lady Scotties were Nina McMurtrey (87), Bailey Birdsell (92) and Allie McCoy (93).

Host Greenwood (371) finished 10th behind scoring finishes from Emma Harmon (80), Emily Morgan (86), Maiah Cisco (94) and Langley Hunt (111).

Bowling Green was 13th with a 404, paced by Raegan Richardson (91), Macy Meisel (99), Lindsey Mitchell (106) and Lilly Malloy (108).

Franklin-Simpson (424) was 15th, getting scoring from Conleigh Wilson (96), Anne Reid Forshee (103), Hannah Clark (109) and Chloe Mylor (116).

Gator Invitational

It wasn’t the best day on the links for Bowling Green’s formidable one-two punch of Collier Curd and Clark McDougal, but Monday’s Gator Invitational showed just how solid the Purples are from top to bottom this year.

Curd, who won Saturday’s Dawson Springs Invitational with a sparkling 67 and combined with McDougal (690) to carry the Purples to the team title, scuffled for a 6-over 78 Monday. McDougal also shot 78, yet Bowling Green still managed a solid fifth-place finish in the team standings thanks to another strong showing from Charlie Reber and an impressive first-varsity scoring finish by Reed Richey.

Reber carded a team-best 74 – the second time in three events he’s led the Purples after having shot a 73 in Saturday’s Best in the West Invitational at Boots Randolph State Park Golf Course in Cadiz. Richey added a 75 for the Purples.

“One of the best things about it is we’ve been getting help from all up and down our lineup, which is all you can ask,” Purples coach Adam Whitt said.

Greenwood’s ‘A’ lineup finished in a three-way tie for sixth with Lexington Christian and Wayne County after combining for a 311.

Senior Griffin Plumb led the Gators with a 4-over 76, while eighth-grader Jacob Lang tallied a 77 and seniors Carson Sturgill and Marcello Teixeria each carded 79s.

“Those are pretty decent scores for us,” first-year Greenwood coach Dan Dillingham said. “I feel like we still have our best golf ahead of us. Guys are really competing and they’re out there playing well. We got off to a little bit of a rough start, but once they got going they were making putts.”

Louisville’s St. Xavier won the team title with a 290, topping runner-up Taylor County by five strokes. Marshall County was third with a 299 and Louisville Trinity finished fourth with a 304.

The individual championship went down to a three-way playoff on the No. 10 hole at BGCC after Madisonville-North Hopkins’ Jackson Hill, Taylor County’s Luke Coyle and St. Xavier’s Drew Doyle each finished with a 2-under 70.

Hill came out on top in the playoff to claim medalist honors after having come up short in a playoff his first time out in Friday’s Daviess County Invitational in Owensboro.

“Honestly, this field being as strong as it was, I didn’t think 70 would get into a playoff,” Hill said. “I thought it would be 5, 6 under just based on the knowledge of everyone else. I felt pretty confident because I’d been in a playoff on Friday. Unfortunately I didn’t get it done. Today I got it done.”

Franklin-Simpson and Allen County-Scottsville tied in the team standings at 332.

Owen Stamper led ACS with a 73, and the Patriots added scoring finishes by Tyler Ford (85), Bryson Bonds (87) and Peyton Cline (87).

Dalton Fiveash shot a 75 to lead Franklin-Simpson, which also counted scores from Chase Wilson (83), Ben Harris (85) and Dawson Owens (89).

South Warren was one shot behind them at 333, with scoring from Chase Hodges (81), Brennen Smith (81), Clayton Daniels (84) and Tyler Earnhart (87).

Glasgow (367) got scoring finishes from Drew Richardson (84), Clay Pippen (90), Ethan Harlow (90) and Jase Cook (101).

Greenwood’s ‘B’ team of Jaxon Moss (79), Mason Williams (82), Ethan Gentry (100) and Jagger Parker (112) tallied a 373.

Edmonson County (380) got scoring from Nathan Oliver (78), Eli Booker (93), Andrew Talley (101) and Evan Stice (108).{&end}