Boys golf: Vinny Coven medals, leads Brunswick to win at Buckeye Cup

MEDINA TWP. — Brunswick senior Vinny Coven found his swing and a little bit of magic Wednesday. Owning a 42.4 nine-hole average entering play at Bunker Hill Golf Course, Coven shot a season-best, 4-over-par 76 to win medalist honors at the Buckeye Cup. "After tryouts, I felt like I lost my swing, and then today everything was clicking," he said. "My tempo was there. Everything was going on the green. I had a few birdies here and there, but overall I just played really well." Coven's efforts led the Blue Devils (316) to win the tournament that included seven full teams, ahead of the host Bucks (318), who saw junior Cam Morton finish one stroke behind Coven. "It feels good (to win)," Coven said. "It's the first one in a while for our varsity team. I feel like we did a good job today, but I definitely feel like we can do better later in the year." Highland (331) finished fourth behind St. Edward (327). The Hornets were paced by senior Hayden Hoyt's 78, which tied him for third with Buckeye's Ben Lange and St. Edward's Dominic Benni. The day belonged to Coven, who started on the 13th hole and made birdies on the 278-yard No. 16 and 396-yard, par-5 No. 18 to reach the turn at 1 under. After a bogey on the second, Coven birdied the 484-yard third to get back to 1 under, which is where he stayed through 11 holes. He bogeyed the last four holes of the front nine and again on No. 11. He only parred eight holes. "Honestly, I was just playing simple golf," Coven said. "I was hitting fairways, hitting greens, putting well, chipping well. It was fun, but boring golf." Liam Cooney (79), Isaac Morgan (80) and Braedon Iacobacci (81) rounded out Brunswick's scoring. Cooney parred eight holes on the back nine, while Morgan's round was highlighted by a birdie on the seventh. Morton's day had a little more drama. Starting on the 338-yard 15th, Morton had three bogeys and a double bogey in his first four holes. He was 9 over when he made the turn to No. 10. The he found his groove. Morton birdied four of his final five holes, starting with the 525-yard, par-5 10th and finishing with the 305-yard 14th. "Right off the rip, I was off to a pretty slow start," he said. "I knew I had to figure out a way to flip it around. The driver wasn't really working for me, so I had to start pulling out irons off the tee to play to a number and get up and down. "I'm really happy with how I turned it around. I really had a solid finish there." Lange had 11 pars and birdied the 10th to cover his final 12 holes with a strong finish. Senior Andy Kost rebounded from a triple bogey to start his round on No. 18 to finish with 80 that featured birdies on the third and seventh holes. Hoyt, who has gotten off to a fantastic start to the season with a 37.1 nine-hole average entering Wednesday, was disappointed. Starting on the 340-yard first, Hoyt bogeyed three of the first four holes to dig a bit of a hole. He rebounded with a birdie on the seventh, but was unable to build momentum. Still he managed to keep the round together well enough to turn in a respectable score. "I just didn't have my stuff, I guess," Hoyt said. "The short game was not good today. My irons aren't going where they are supposed to go. I really have a lot to work on after that." Behind Hoyt, fellow senior Cooper Lutz turned in the Hornets' next best score with an 83 that included nine pars. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results Standings: 1. Brunswick 316, Buckeye 318, 3. St. Edward 327, 4. Highland 331, 5. Westlake 348, 6. North Royalton 350, 7. Independence 411. Brunswick (316) — Vinny Coven 76, Liam Cooney 79, Isaac Morgan 80, Braedon Iacobacci 81, David Diamond 83, Colton Sulima 85. Buckeye (318) — Cam Morton 77, Ben Lange 78, Andy Kost 80, Michael Valus 83, Wyatt Kujat 91, Ian Collins 107. Highland (331) — Hayden Hoyt 78, Cooper Lutz 83, Matthew Mamer 84, Noah Krietemeyer 86, Michael Caza 86, Aaron Davis 90.