FAYETTEVILLE — Consistent play up and down the lineup allowed Conway to pull away from the field and claim the Class 7A Boys State Golf Championship on Tuesday at Fayetteville Country Club.
While other teams had one or two golfers put up solid scores in the final 18-hole round, the Wampus Cats took advantage of their deep roster by getting five scores under 80 on Tuesday. Parker Rice and Tyler Pinney led the charge with a pair of even par 70s, followed by a 75 from Tim Netherton, a 77 from Chase Netherton and a 79 off the card of Tanner Bezet as Conway’s two-day total of 591 was 13 strokes better than runner-up Bentonville.
“The kids just played real smart,” Conway coach Janet Taylor said. “They didn’t pull out their big clubs as much as they could have and they were real smart with their shot selection. They didn’t try to overpower the course and that was a big factor. They just took what the course gave them, they fired at the pins that they could and they hit the middle of the greens on the ones that they couldn’t fire at.
“I’m just real proud of their effort. We’ve got 15 guys on our team and all of them were here this week. We’re really solid and about eight deep and it took all of them pushing each other all year. And we knew depth would be our strength this year and that turned out, I think, to be the deciding factor.”
Rice, who just missed out on a trip to the overall state tournament, said playing with the three-shot lead after Monday’s opening round benefited Conway.
“You do get that sense that you’re leading and it’s ours to lose now,” Rice said. “So I felt like we did a good job with that and the lead did help us pull through.”
Springdale Har-Ber senior and Arkansas signee Zach Coats earned medalist honors with a two-day total of 70-69-139. Coats was in a three-way tie for the lead after the first round, but his final round 1-under par gave him a two-stroke victory and his first Class 7A state individual title.
“It’s pretty special,” Coats said. “Winning conference and winning state is pretty special and now I get to go to overalls and hopefully I’ll do well there.”
Brik Brauburger and Austin Morey of Bentonville finished second and third, respectively, in the individual results and guided Bentonville to its second-place team finish. Both Brauburger and Morey will now advance to the state overall tournament along with Coats, to be held Oct. 13 at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.
Morey needed a playoff to secure his spot at the overall tournament, defeating Rice and Tyler Green of Bryant on the second playoff hole.
“Brik is a tremendous golfer and tremendous kid and Austin is the same way,” Bentonville coach Kent Early said. “Last year Austin shot a 90 and a 92 at the state tournament and he’s spent a lot of time working on his game. He really dedicated himself and his scores showed that, and I’m proud of him.”
Fayetteville finished third in the team standings, led by a even par effort from sophomore Mason Adams on Tuesday. Bryant followed in fourth place and Little Rock Catholic was fifth.