SEARCY -- On a day when birdies seemed hard to come by, Jonesboro's Wil Gibson grabbed more than his share.
Gibson collected six birdies Tuesday on a bright and breezy afternoon at the Searcy Country Club course, but the sophomore also gave five shots back on his way to 1-under 70 in the first round of the Class 6A boys state golf tournament.
CLASS 6A
At Searcy Country Club
6A-EAST TEAM RESULTS 1. Jonesboro 311, 2. Searcy 325, 3. Marion 331, 4. Siloam Springs 347, 5. Greenwood 351, 6. Mountain Home 370, 7. Russellville 380, 8. Alma 404.
6A-SOUTH TEAM RESULTS 1. Benton 332, 2. El Dorado 351, 3. Texarkana 364, 4. Sheridan 421, 5. Lake Hamilton 426.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Wil Gibson, Jonesboro;70
Hunter Wilkerson, Searcy;76
Ethan Eppinette, Texarkana;77
Kyle Covington, Jonesboro;78
Sam Eddington, Benton;78
"I was rolling it really good, but it's a little upsetting having that many bogeys," Gibson said. "I wanted to shoot around even, so I did a little better than that. I think I shot what I needed to, but I want to shoot a little better."
Gibson will be hard to catch if he does, entering today's final round with a six-shot advantage. Searcy senior Hunter Wilkerson is Gibson's nearest competitor after a 5-over 76.
Jonesboro captured the 6A-East Conference title with a score of 311, 14 strokes better than runner-up Searcy. Benton scored a 332, which was good enough for the 6A-South Conference title. Today's second round will help determine the state title.
Gibson was 3 under after birdieing No. 10, a 283-yard par 4, but his approach shot on No. 11 -- a 539-yard par 5 -- landed in the water in front of the green. He took a double bogey.
"That pin was next to the fringe and I let it get into my head," Gibson said. "I just hit it too short."
The pin placements, fast greens and a stiff wind made the 6,059-yard course a tough customer. Nine of the 66 players in the field managed to shoot 79 or below.
"I thought the greens were pretty quick," said Texarkana sophomore Ethan Eppinette, who earned 6A-South medalist honors with a 6-over 77. "They are faster than what I'm used to practicing on, but I got used to them after the sixth hole."
Eppinette was 6 over after his first six holes. He shot even par the rest of the way.
Wilkerson fired one of better rounds of the season on a day when he said the course was playing harder than usual.
"The pins were tucked and there was a little bit of wind," said Wilkerson, who had one birdie Tuesday. "I just focused on every shot and tried to hit the green on every hole. ... I knew before I played today that the course would play harder. I just knew to play more conservative and hit better shots."
Gibson ended his afternoon on a high note, collecting a birdie on the 504-yard, par-5 No. 1.
"I've never played very good on that hole," Gibson said. "I usually put up some pretty big numbers."
Jonesboro picked up a 79s from Kyle Covington and Brett Daughdrill and an 84 from Matthew Jones to go along with Gibson's 70. Benton was led by Sam Eddington's 78, an 84 from Braden Smith, 85s from Spencer Owens and Brendon Little and an 89 from Gunner Hughes.
The field was cut to 44 players for today's second round. The lead groups will tee off at 8:30 a.m. The top three medalists will qualify for the Overall tournament, which will be played Thursday, Oct. 15 at the Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.
Sports on 10/07/2015