The Southern Cross may be the toughest test in South Carolina high school golf for two reasons.
One is the strength of the field, which is more or less a who's-who of the best teams and individuals from both public and private high schools.
The other is the difficulty of the course, as Palmetto Golf Club requires a level of precision and patience that most courses on the schedule don't.
The latter was on full display during Friday's opening round of the tournament's 49th edition, during which players who hadn't been here since last year were greeted by a new course after re-grassing. Those were are regulars were wondering how the course could've firmed up so much from earlier in the week. And those who are playing it for the first time may be wondering what their teammates and others could have possibly meant when they told stories about "going low" at Palmetto.
A phrase uttered early in the day may have summed it up best - it was a bloodbath out there.
Scores soared and nerves were tested, and no one felt the brunt of that as much as the local schools in the field. All five local teams are in the bottom seven of the field of 21.
Aiken and North Augusta are the top locals, and the Region 4-AAAA rivals are tied for 15th at 27-over 240. Mead Hall is 19th at 252, Fox Creek is 20th at 260 and South Aiken is 21st at 326.
Trinity Collegiate leads the way at 9-over 222, one shot ahead of Greenville. Blue Ridge, Hilton Head Prep and Wren are tied for third another shot back.
Greenville's Hugh Faulker and A.C. Flora's Charles Cauthen share the individual lead after rounds of 1-under 70 that probably felt more like 65s. They're the only players under par, and they're two ahead of a group of five.
Eight more players are tied at 2 over, and four are at 3 over.
North Augusta's Andrew Baxley and Aiken's Richard Anaclerio are the low locals at 5 over.
North Augusta, the defending Class AAAA state champion, also counted a 77 from Luke Johnson and an 87 from Jackson Beggs.
Aiken counted scores from Anaclerio, Evan Crooks (80) and Benton Orr (84).
Mead Hall took scores from Granger Young (80), Stern Massey (85) and Brooks Abrams (87).
Fox Creek counted scores from Westin Carroll (83), Jonathan Godbee (88) and Joel Carroll (89).
South Aiken counted scores from Collin Orander (103), Charlie Shick (105) and Reid Hinton (118).
Round two is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.
