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Clearwater Central Catholic's golf team boasts freshman firepower

 
CCC golfer Thomas Salanito shot a 1-under 70 to win the individual honor at the Mustang Invitational Sept. 15.
CCC golfer Thomas Salanito shot a 1-under 70 to win the individual honor at the Mustang Invitational Sept. 15.
Published Oct. 5, 2016

In order for Clearwater Central Catholic to bounce back from a sub-par 2015 golf season, it was going to need contributions from some of its younger players. As the regular season nears its end, the Marauders have indeed gotten those contributions.

Juniors Clark Lea and Davis Harrison are considered veterans in the Marauders' lineup. Both are capable of shooting near par. Harrison actually led the Marauders in last week's Green Devil Invitational with 1-under 71 at the Vinoy Golf Club. Lea shot 3-over 74 at the same tournament, in which CCC finished second with an impressive 298.

Two others who have rounded out the top four for CCC are freshmen, Hunter Lea and Thomas Salanito. Despite being newcomers, both are near scratch golfers. Lea is routinely in the mid-70s and Salanito is also capable of low scores. He shot a 1- under 70 to win the individual honor at the Mustang Invitational on Sept. 15. He was the only golfer in the 101 player field to break par.

Salanito is new to high school golf and relatively new to the sport. He didn't start playing until he was 10 years old, and started playing competitive golf when he was 11. That's really only three years of high-level golf, but Salanito took to the sport mainly because it sounded better than getting hit as a football player.

"My dad took me out and saw that I had some potential and it's a lot better than football," Salanito said. "So I stuck with it. I don't have to deal with concussions or anything like that."

At the Green Devil Invitational, Salanito shot 76. When the district tournament begins next week, he will certainly be counted on if the Marauders are going to make a run to the state tournament.

He does have a few years of junior golf tournaments under his belt, which helps when it comes to playing in high school events. But Salanito does admit to some anxiety when he first started playing in high school tournaments.

"I was a little nervous but my dad told me that I belong out here with these guys and then once I played in a tournament I knew that I belonged," Salanito said.

Part of the reason he belongs is because he rarely finds trouble. He is not overly long off the tee, but accuracy is a strength. He said his plan is simple, find the fairway, then the green and putt the ball in the hole. Simple game.

"I'm not like some of these 300-yard drivers who are out here," he said. "I kind of get myself around a golf course in my own way. Instead of hitting it way down the fairway, I hit it about 270 and use my long irons. I'm more of a drive, green, two putt kind of player."

And that pretty much sums up CCC's team. The Marauders won the Mustang Invitational with a score of 304, which was 14 shots ahead of a good East Lake team. They only lost to a loaded Plant team by four shots at the Vinoy.

Saturday, the Marauders will host the CCC Invitational at the Belleview Biltmore. It is the last 18-hole regular-season tournament before the district tournament begins on Monday at the Bayou Club.

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CCC will be the favorite at the district tournament and should advance to the region tournament. This year's Class A state tournament will be held at the Mission Inn and Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills on Oct. 28-29.

Longtime CCC coach Tony Pasquine likes the team he is bringing into postseason play.

"We're getting better as the season goes on, which is what you want," Pasquine said. "These guys are all good players, they just need to believe that they can do it."