“I’m sure he’d want a crack at another 18 and go lower. … I think he’s thoroughly capable of going around here 10 strokes better,” Schilling said.
Wells shot a 10-over-par 82 in cold and windy conditions at the Ohio State Scarlet Course, only the second time this year he’s failed to break 80. He had 43 on the back nine and finished in a tie for 39th.
He’s normally smooth with the putter, but that phase of the game let him down. He had a pair of three-putts on the undulating greens and 35 whacks overall.
“My putting and chipping is better than it was today. I never got anything going,” he said.
State tournament director Brian Kelly didn’t like paring the event to one round for the first time since 2009, but he said there wasn’t much choice.
“When we evaluated it at 11:45 Friday, it was unplayable,” he said. “We couldn’t put on a tournament the caliber of what these kids deserve.”
Wells, making his first state appearance, was one of the last players to finish, and the greens were fairly beat up by the end of the day. The D-II and III players also groused about the putting surfaces at the state tourney a weekend ago because they weren’t in their normal pristine shape after being aerated.
“The back nine was a lot more bumpy since we were the last group going through, but I’m not going to use that excuse,” Wells said.
He admitted his nerves were an issue.
“I tried to treat it like any other tournament, but it’s hard to do because there were a lot of people here,” he said. “It’s a different atmosphere. It was cool, but it really shows the weaknesses in my game and what I have to work on in the winter.”
Schilling pointed out that Wells is only 15 and already has achieved much.
“If you get here out of our district, you’ve accomplished a great, great deal,” he said. “As a sophomore in your first time here, not really knowing what to expect, I think he composed himself really well.”
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