JACKSONVILLE — Cade Hancock of Elizabethtown overcame windy and wet conditions in the first half of the two-day Jimmy Anderson Invitation over the weekend to capture fifth place in his age division and tied for 30th place overall among the 91 golfers.

The eighth annual event was played on the 6,580-yard, par 72 Jacksonville Country Club course.

Saturday dawned nothing short of crummy for the field of 13- to 18-year-olds, as Mother Nature threw wind and rain across the course. But Hancock battled through the weather for 13 pars, a birdie and four bogeys to card an 18-hole total of 75.

Sunday brought more sunshine but not much better conditions.

A string of five straight pars closed out Hancock’s front nine, where he navigated the first half just one over par. He stared the back nine with a birdie that brought him back to even par for the day and then carded two more pars. But disaster awaited on No. 13 when Hancock struggled to keep his ball in the fairway and clean. His third shot was marred by a mud-covered ball that squirted nearly out of bounds and, when he finished the hole, Hancock was forced to write a triple-bogey eight on his scorecard.

But the next four holes brought four straight pars as he began to right the ship — until No. 18, when Hancock’s drive drilled a pine tree and found the rough, leaving him only one option for his second shot. He punched the ball back to the fairway and salvaged a chance for a par. But three putts later, Hancock took a double-bogey to finish the day with a 77 and the tournament with a 152 total.

The Harrells Cristian Academy freshman was again in action today in a Coastal River Conference match for the Crusaders held at Bayonet at Puppy Creek. He will tee it up again on Monday next week in a conference match in Kinston.

W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.

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W. Curt Vincent

cvincent@civitasmedia.com