The Bowling Green boys’ golf team is in contention after the first day of the KHSAA state tournament at Bowling Green Country Club.

Bowling Green sits in second place after shooting a team score of 16-over par 304 on Tuesday – seven shots behind leader Madison Central. The Purples had three golfers shoot 76 or better on the day – led by Ben Davenport’s even-par 72.

The day could have been better if not for a lost ball on the final hole of the day that led to a triple bogey.

“We’re in it,” Bowling Green coach Adam Whitt said. “Looks like we will be chasing one team. It was a tough way to end it there. You’ve got 25 people looking for a golf ball and nobody could find it. Nobody really saw it come out of the tree. Odds aren’t high of that happening, but the message to (the golfers) is I thought we were really nervy early. Not that it’s different than anyone else out here, but we putted it and chipped it a lot very early in our round today and then settled in and made a run on our backside. We played some good golf, golf that we are capable of.

“We’ve talked for a long time that we think that we are good enough to do this and I hope they believe me now.”

Davenport is tied for sixth after his round – which featured a blistering stretch on his final nine holes. Davenport birdied holes 4 through 8 – after starting his round on the back nine – to get to 1-under before bogeying his final hole, the par-4 ninth.

“I was a little disappointed coming off 3-over on my front nine, but I knew I had plenty of golf ahead of me – nine holes ahead of me,” Davenport said. “I had plenty of birdie holes, plenty of opportunities so I just ran with it and took it.

“… I was a little disappointed with the bogey, but nine is a pretty hard hole so I am not too disappointed.”

He said his stretch of birdies began with a big recovery on the fourth hole.

“I yanked one right, dove into the trees and hit a really nice shot up and over,” Davenport said. “”I made the putt for birdie and from there on it went how it did.”

Charlie Reber and Reed Richey both finished with a 4-over 76s, while Graham Hightower carded an 8-over 80.

Five shots separate Bowling Green from fifth place Marshall County, with Taylor County (306) and Lexington Christian (308) in third and fourth respectively.

Whitt said his team is capable of making a run for the team title during Wednesday’s final round.

“You got 76 from Charlie and 76 from Reed,” Whitt said. “If you are going to win a state championship, those two guys have got to be the ones to pull the rope. They are capable of doing it. They have played a lot of golf out here. If we are going to do this tomorrow, they are going to be in feature pairings with really good golfers. We are going to lean on them heavily and tell them to bring this thing home.”

Christian Academy of Louisville’s Brady Smith is the individual leader after one round, finishing with a 5-under 67. Madison Central’s Mason Hamrick is two shots back in second, with teammate Warren Thomis and Pikeville’s Cam Roberts tied for third with a 2-under 70.

Greenwood’s Jacob Lang is in a three-way tie for sixth with Davenport with a first-round 72.

“I played two bad holes overall, if that,” Lang said. “I played steady golf, made a lot of putts. I’m in a really good position going into tomorrow.”

Lang was 2-under par after his first nine holes, but triple bogeyed the par-4 one to start his final nine holes. He finished his round with seven straight pars.

“I took a really bad swing, got an unfortunate kick and went (out of bounds),” Lang said. “After that I went to a spot where you really can’t be on that hole. It led to a triple bogey, but overall I came back after that and made a birdie and played steady golf after that.”

Allen County-Scottsville’s Rafe Blankenship (4-over 76) finished his day tied for 19th. Teammate Eli Stamper shot a 9-over 81, while South Warren’s Clay Daniels finished with a 10-over 82.{&end}