Nevada golf team cruises to first place finish at Silo Ridge

Friday, April 10, 2015

Nevada Daily Mail

The Nevada Tigers golf team dominated the 16-team Bolivar Invitational at Silo Ridge Country Club, winning Monday's tournament by 25 strokes.

Nevada golf coach Brian Leonard, said his team was confident entering the tournament.

"We're on a roll," he said. "We knew we could do it if we all played well," he said. "And sure enough, they all just happened to play great that same day."

It was Nevada's third tournament victory of the season, having already finished in first place at the season-opening Neosho Invitational, as well as the Bird Dog Invitational in Carl Junction. The Tigers also have a second place finish this season.

Nevada finished with a final team score of 308, while second-place Warrensburg registered a 333.

Leonard said course conditions were wet and windy.

"We played the ball up, which helped a lot," Leonard said. "When we get to state, we will play the ball down."

Individual scores

Nevada sophomore John Quitno, who had won his previous two tournaments, finished in second-place, as Ava's Tristan Haltom won a tiebreaker, to capture first place. Both Quitno and Halton finished with scores of 74. Quitno shot a 34 on the front-nine, and a 40 on the back-nine.

"John, on the front-nine, got up-and-down on five or six of the nine holes," Leonard said. "He would miss a green, chip up, and make a put. His short-game saved him on the front-side."

Levi Palmer lost a fourth-place tiebreaker, finishing in fifth-place, as he notched a 77, shooting a 42 on the front-nine, before catching fire to shoot 35 on the back-nine.

Leonard said Palmer and other team members struggled on the front-nine.

"Levi came back on the back-side and shot a 1-under," he said. "He played it tough. He fought back."

Sophomore Jacob Hammontree scored a 78, losing a sixth-place tiebreaker, finishing in seventh-place. Hammontree shot a 42 on the front-nine and a 36 on the back-nine.

"Jacob came back and shot even par on the back-side," Leonard said.

Nevada's Patrick Ferry finished in 10th-place, losing a three-way eighth-place tiebreaker ---- scoring a 79, shooting a 37 on the first-nine, and a 42 on the second-nine.

Rounding out Nevada's team scorecard, Daxtyn Heistand shot a 41 and a 46, for a final score of 87.

"Daxtyn played really tough," Leonard said. "He had a good score on that tough course."

Leonard said he was pleased with the team's overall performance, as Palmer, Hammontree, and Ferry each rang up their best scores of the season.

'We have got to keep building and improving," Leonard said. "We still need to improve on our short game. We went on the range tonight, and worked on 100-yard shots, 75, and 50-yard shots. And, we're going to work on chipping and putting."

Next up

The Tigers head to Springfield, Monday, to compete at the Logan-Rogersville Invitational at Springfield Golf and Country Club.

"We're going into this tournament ---- looking forward to having a good showing," Leonard said. "We've never played the course before, but that's a good thing. I feel pretty confident we can finish in first or second.

"I would just like to have all the boys play well."

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