From the time he first picked up a golf club, Thomas Newton has dreamt of reaching the number golfers from all over the world dream of.

On Monday afternoon in Bowling Green, he achieved the feat.

The Bethlehem senior carded a 3-under 69, finishing two shots behind champion Bryce Vernon of Taylor County, during the Greenwood Gator Invitational at Bowling Green Country Club.

“I was confident in myself and confident in the team that we could make a good effort to win,” Newton said.

Newton had flirted with the magical number before, but wasn’t about to let it slip away again. When he reached the 12th hole of the day, Newton said he began to realize what was within his grasp.

“I looked at the leaderboard and realized I was 4 under,” he said. “I just told myself ‘fairway, green and two-putt the last six (holes). I made a disappointing bogey down the stretch, but fought back with some great par saves and multiple good birdie looks – but just couldn’t convert.”

It was Newton’s best round of his career, and the Eagles rode the momentum to win the team title of the 20-team event at the site of the KHSAA State Golf Championships later this season.

Bethlehem won the championship with a 297, topping Taylor County on a fifth golfer tiebreak.

“It’s a very big win for us,” Newton said. “We were searching for our first win of the season after starting out with multiple top-five finishes, but never could pull out the win. It feels really great to get the first team win of the season, and we’re looking forward to many more.

“We are just heating up now,” he added. “By the team regions and semi-state rolls around, we should all be playing our best golf as a team.”

Miller Osborne tied for 13th with a 3-over 75, Seth Greenwell tied for 18th with a 4-over 76, Owen Horton tied for 25th with a 5-over 77 and Kaden Puyear tied for 33rd with a 6-over 78.

The Eagles’ William Elder, who competed as an individual, tied for 37th after a 7-over 79.

Banshees compete in CAL Ladies Invitational

Bethlehem’s girls’ team had three golfers in Monday’s Christian Academy of Louisville Ladies Invitational at Heritage Hill Golf Club in Shepherdsville.

Whitney Elder tied for 33rd, while Reagan Travis tied for 35th and Avery Howard was 37th overall.