MANCHESTER – The Manchester Memorial boys golf team took to its home course, Derryfield Country Club, Thursday, Sept. 13, to square off with Londonderry, Bedford and Merrimack.

With a potential playoff spot in sight, head coach Scott Bailey said he was looking for a strong outing from his Crusaders.

But at the end of the match, they finished last of the four teams with a 217 total score.
“Rough day for Memorial today. A lot of consistency, but consistency in the wrong direction,” Bailey said. “The end of the season is going to be a tough run for us.”

The three losses dropped the Crusaders to 9-11 on the season, placing them in a tie for 11th in Division I – right on the cusp of a state tournament berth. Bailey expects to need three or four more wins to squeak into the last playoff spot.

Memorial's low scorer of the day was John Cook, who walked off the ninth green with a 39. Senior Chris Burgess, playing in the number-one spot, finished with a 40.

“I could've done better,” Burgess said. “The greens weren't in the greatest condition, but I did all right.”

Burgess' favorite hole of the day was the 160-yard, par-three eighth. He stuck his tee shot inside 15 feet from the pin, but the recently-aerated green gave him trouble sinking the birdie putt.
As his team's number-one, Burgess played with Bedford's Ryan Tombs, one of the best golfers in the state.

“I've played with him before,” Burgess said. “He's a great kid. I played with him a few years ago. He killed me, but it was fun.”

Bailey knew coming in Bedford would be tough, but he was surprised by all the scores posted to beat his Crusaders.

“When you're keeping three 46s, you're not going to win much,” Bailey said. “Bedford's the team to beat for sure, but actually, all the other teams played pretty well. I didn't expect the scores from the other two schools to be as good as they were.”

With four freshmen, the Crusaders lack experience. Heading into the match, Bailey had high hopes for freshman Garrett Olivar. After he posted a 32 in his last round, he took the No.2 spot, but he struggled and came in with a 46.

At first, Bailey didn't see youth holding his team back. As the season progressed, it has proven to be more of an obstacle.

“We're a young team,” Bailey said. “We had a couple early, good matches, so I was hopeful that we'd finish strong, but we've actually faded.”

Memorial has three matches left: Pinkerton, Salem and a rematch with Merrimack on Friday, Sept. 21.