BE golf finishes top 5 out west among nation’s top high schools

The Bishop England High School boy’s golf team traveled to Palm Springs, California, to compete in the prestigious 2023 Champions Invitational on April 3-4, which included 44 of the top high school golf teams west of the Mississippi River. 

 

The Bishops were the only team from east of the Mississippi.

 

The trip was well worth it for coach Jeff Burton’s squad, who finished in a three-way tie for fifth place with a two-day total of 878, 18 strokes behind in-state champion De La Salle High. The Bishops, who were in second place after the first day of competition, finished tied for fifth with Foothills and Scottsdale Prep.

 

Burton said teams are selected by the tourney officials after they review biographies of the players and teams who send in entry forms.

 

“As far as I know, we’re the first team east of the Mississippi to play in the tournament,” Burton said. “I’m almost positive of that. At least there hasn’t been a tournament with a team east of the Mississippi in the 13 years I tried to get our team in.”

 

Burton was able to get the school to agree to send all 15 members of the BE team to California, not just the seven players who played in the team competition.

 

“There was no way I was going to take six or seven players and leave the rest behind,” Burton said. “I wasn’t going to leave half the team behind when we’re playing in a once-in-a-lifetime event.”

 

The Bishops competed in the event, which was held at Tahquitz Creek in Palm Springs. The tournament has been a springboard for some of the top golfers on the PGA Tour. Past individual champions have included Jordan Speith, Collin Morikawa, Ricky Fowler, Will Zalatoris and Beau Hossler.

 

The teams played 36 holes on the first day and 18 on the final day.

 

The Bishops’ Matt Moloney finished tied for third place with a score of 209 to earn all-tournament team honors. He carded a 65 for the first round and 69 for the third round. But a score of 75 hurt his chances for the individual title, which was won by Kush Arora of Amador Valley, California. Arora, who will attend Stanford, carded a 205.

 

Moloney transferred to BE last year from the Washington, D.C. metro area where he was the top golfer in the area. He will play at the next level for the Georgia Bulldogs.

 

The Bishops’ Luke Walmet finished in a tie for 33rd place, while Sam McMillian was tied for 99th place. Other members of the team included Daniel Donato, Matthew Teegardin, Max Rotermund and Ricky Redicar.

 

Bishop England junior Michael Haynes, who played in the individual match, made a hole-in-one. 

 

The Bishops played in the prestigious Georgia-South Carolina Cup before leaving for California. A team from Milton, Georgia, won the tournament, while the Bishops and A.C. Flora had the best finishes by teams from the Palmetto State, finishing in a tie for fourth place.