Decatur Golf stepped into regional competition with a team of five and placed fifth out of 16, scoring 668.

“I really enjoyed this year,” Coach Roger Brown said. “The team had great work ethic in the mornings lifting weights and running. They were very dedicated and put a lot of work in after school, as well.”

Practicing everyday for three to five hours, senior Blake Lindsey won the individual fifth place medal, scoring a 79, 79.

“I was disappointed because I was in second place by a few strokes, then fell apart,” Lindsey said.

Right behind Linsey, junior Dylan Rottner earned the eighth place individual medal, scoring a 83, 77.

“My goal was to win,” Rottner said. “Now I’ve been through it, and was so close, I know I can do it next year.”

Team member Eric Gage scored 89, 78 and Jansen Alker and Dylan Erwin both scored a 91, 92.

“Our goal was to win district which would automatically qualify us for regionals, which we did, then to make it to Austin; and we fell a little bit short of that,” Brown said. “A lot of those guys practice five or six times a week. They work hard and did a good job.”

Rottner has been playing golf since he was four years old, and started kicking it into gear as a freshman.

“[My favorite part] is getting to be outside, playing a sport I’ve done forever and have fun while doing it,” Rottnew said. “It’s exciting because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Lindsey has played for five years, attending regionals every year in high school, this year placing his best.

“[My favorite part] is how hard the sport is, and it’s tough to be good at,” Lindsay said.

Lindsey plans on playing college golf next year.

“There are a couple of students coming from the middle school and we are only graduating one,” Brown said. “Decatur golf has a bright future and they will be really good next year.”