Barnes Blake wore an inscrutable expression, standing there, on the 18th green, moments after tapping in his final putt. He examined his ball for a second. He pursed his lips slightly. He seemed somewhat annoyed, though it’s usually tough to tell with the unflappable golfer.
A student journalist soon gestured to Blake, asking for a thumb signal indicating the round’s result. Thumbs up? Thumbs down?
The verdict came.
Thumbs sideways.
A concrete number eventually replaced the rudimentary gestures. Blake had shot an even-par 71. He confessed slight disappointment. He won the Union County Tournament anyway. By 4 strokes. For his third tournament victory in a row and his third UCT title in three tries.
Westfield also seized the team tournament title, posting a 304 at Echo Lake Country Club on Tuesday afternoon to cruise to a 24-stroke victory over second-place Cranford.
“It means a lot, and it’s very special,” head coach Ryan Daly said. “We didn’t win this last year as a team. So to get back to the winner’s circle with the county championship is always special.”
The victory, Westfield’s third in a row after wins last week at the Blue Devil Invitational and the Union County Conference Tournament, arrived behind a series of strong performances. Jack Paterson finished in second place with a 4-over-par 75, and Tate and Brody Esler each posted 8-over 79s. Nick Healey carded a 12-over 83, but his score didn’t impact Westfield’s total because in Tuesday’s format only a team’s best four scores contributed to its total.
Tate Esler, a mainstay in the lineup, has played consistent strong golf all season and won the Red Devil Invitational title. But Brody Esler, his younger brother, only recently forged a spot near the top of Westfield’s pecking order.
Paterson, in particular, has emerged late in the season as a powerhouse. The sophomore, absent from early tournaments, fired a sizzling 2-over-par 73 at the Blue Devil Invitational while playing for Westfield’s second team. That earned him a spot in the lineup for last week’s conference tournament. Paterson duly posted an 8-over 79, maintaining his spot in the lineup. He validated that spot Tuesday.
“I feel like I just played solid, made a bunch of putts,” Paterson said. “I found some success last week when we were here for the Blue Devil. I just didn’t really change much at all.”
Paterson has been a boon for Westfield, especially late in the season as the pressure creeps higher and coveted trophies swing in the balance.
“It’s great timing for us,” Daly said. “We always talk about trying to peak for these events.”
The other peaking Westfield golfer is, of course, Blake.
He strolled down the 18th fairway after his drive, his three groupmates flanking him. He walked straight down the fairway’s center as his companions peeled off. One to the left rough. One to the right rough. One to the center of the fairway—except a few yards behind Blake.
He stepped up to his ball moments later, then flared an approach shot slightly right. On the green. Just not close enough to sink a putt.
Story of the day.
“Kept hitting some good shots,” Blake said. “But none of the putts would really fall.”
Blake birdied his first two holes of the day. He bogeyed the fourth hole but birdied the fifth. Then the birdie famine started.
“I just had to stay patient and wait and see if I could make some more birdies,” Blake said. “But they never really came.”
Conditions proved decent on Tuesday. It was beautiful but windy, windy enough that Daly at one point peeked out from beneath four layers of clothing.
Echo Lake’s sunswept fairways concealed a small hidden complication—a touch of lingering sogginess. A weekend rainstorm dumped 7 inches of water on the course. More rain in three days than snow over the whole winter. That knowledge perhaps conjured up mental images of a waterlogged wasteland.
But the course, Blake said, was “in great shape. So we played lift, clean and place. A couple of mud balls, and the greens were pretty soft and responsive.”
Two days’ recovery time hadn’t fully rehabilitated the course. But it had come close.
Close enough to defuse any possible added drama on a day with little of it.
The absence of tension was conspicuous. Just a week ago, at the Blue Devil Invitational, players and coaches stared hungrily at the leaderboard, and at least a few golfers stalked frustratedly around the clubhouse. This was different. It felt more like an afternoon stroll than an emotionally charged tournament. Almost as if the result was preordained.
“We have a lot of momentum going right now,” Blake said.
Westfield certainly does. The Blue Devils plan to package that momentum and deposit it at High Bridge Hills Golf Club, the site of the North 1 and 2 sectional tournament on May 9. Westfield will play a practice round Friday at the tournament location.
“We have a lot of tough competition there,” Daly said.
“Really solid chance of winning,” Paterson said.
As for Blake?
He just hopes to rotate that thumb a bit. From sideways to upright.
