Glendale finishes 1-3 in golf tourney

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April 4, 2008

By Jim Henry

jhenry@joplinglobe.com

Glendale’s golf practices can become pretty intense.

Simply put, the Falcon players must post good scores on a regular basis to make the varsity team.

The Falcons displayed their depth Thursday by finishing first and third in the annual Joplin Invitational at soggy Twin Hills Golf and Country Club. And half of the tournament’s top-12 individuals were Falcons.

“You have to win or else you’re not going to play,” junior Brandon Cauldwell said.

“Every time our guys will play, it’s for positioning, and it’s competitive,” Glendale head coach Sean Williamson said. “We try to mix in a day or two where we just go practice and we don’t play for score, but most of the time we’re playing for positioning.

“They are competing every day just to see what five get to go to a tournament. I’m very thankful that (Joplin) Coach (Jack) Pace was able to get both of our groups in today. It’s not really fair to say it’s a junior varsity team. It’s really two varsity teams.”

Glendale White — the same fivesome that won the Class 4 state championship last spring by 11 strokes — topped the 19-team field with a 304.

Carthage, recording four scores of 80 or better, took second with 316, followed by Glendale Blue 322, Kickapoo 325 and West Plains 341.

“We’ve been struggling,” Carthage head coach Lowell Catron said. “We haven’t been very consistent, but the last match we had, we started playing a little better.

“What’s helped this year is I scheduled all five (dual) matches early. ... I kind of used those matches like preseason baseball, use them to try to get mentally focused and ready to play because the important things are the tournaments.”

Webb City placed sixth with 342, and Carl Junction (344), Nevada (344), Joplin (346) and Hillcrest (359) completed the top 10.

Play began at 8:30 Thursday morning, and most golfers played one hole before rain sent everyone to the clubhouse. After a 45-minute delay, played resumed and continued uninterrupted.

“Conditions were muddy and wet and kind of cold, but the greens stuck really good,” Glendale senior Brian Steele said. “Out here when the greens get really firm and dry, they are fast and hard to hold. (The wet greens) helped out quite a bit.”

Steele, who tied for second in last year’s state tournament, shot a 1-over-par 73 to claim medalist honors. His round of 37-40 included four birdies and five bogeys.

“If the putter wasn’t rolling good, I wouldn’t have won,” Steele said. “I made two bogeys on holes that I should have made double-bogey or worse. That was key to my round, because once you start making doubles, your attitude starts going down real far. When you’re making a five-footer for bogey, it helps your confidence a lot”

Defending state champion Daily Young of Hillcrest, Kevin Kring of Central and Cauldwell shared second place at 75.

“I got to 4-over, then I birdied 2, 3 and 4 and got back to 1-over,” Young said. “Then I made one of my best swings of the day on No. 5, (par-3) over water, and spun it about 20 feet back into the water (leading to a double bogey). That kind of took the wind out of the sails. I didn’t play as well as I could but it was good to get in tournament mode and kick it into gear.”

Kring, also a state runner-up, has made three holes-in-one at Highland Springs Country Club in Springfield in practice and weekend play during the last 11 days — all with 8-irons.

“It was lucky,” Kring said. “I haven’t been playing that well. I’d like to win some tournaments before I have those, but at least it gives me confidence if I ever need to hole out a shot.”

Josh Roller of Glendale White was fifth with 77, and a three-way tie for sixth involved Trevor Freeman and Brady Bridges of Carthage and Thomas Brockman of Glendale Blue. Joplin’s Brad Thompson, Webb City’s Andrew Maier and Glendale’s Nathan Fredrick and Evan Allen tied at 79 to complete the top 10.

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