Nevada golfers take eighth in Carthage tournament

CARTHAGE -- Despite far less than ideal playing conditions, the Nevada Tigers golf team finished eighth Monday, in the Sonic/Carthage Invitational tournament, on the Carthage Municipal Golf Course. Tigers head coach Brian Leonard said the day's first five holes were played in the rain.

Springfield Glendale won the team title with a 307, Lamar's Tigers finished second at 318, Camdenton was third at 321, Springfield Kickapoo was fourth at 326, one shot better than Branson, with Joplin (328) sixth, Ozark (332) seventh and Nevada (333) eighth. Springfield Parkview was ninth at 334 and Nixa rounded out the top 10 at 345.

"I wasn't completely disappointed with the scores because of the teams that were in it," Leonard said.

Republic's Dylan Bekemeier was the individual champion with a 1-over-par 72, while Branson Pirate David Bennett was second at 73, followed by Glendale's Christopher Obert third at 74, Nevada freshman John Quitno fourth at 74 and Glendale's Baron Weaver fifth at 75.

"He had a really good day," Leonard said of Quitno's score, adding that it could have been even better. "He shot a 74 and it should have been a 71, easily."

Nevada's Levi Palmer shared 28th place with an 83, Tigers Jacob Hammontree and Andrew Quitno tied for 48th at 88 and Nevada freshman Patrick Ferry tied for 50th with an 89.

Leonard said his squad still has some little things to work on, but that shouldn't be a problem as the Tigers are scheduled to play four more times before the district tournament, two of which will be at home. The first of those two home dates for the Tigers is scheduled for 4 p.m., Tuesday, when Carthage makes an appearance at Nevada's Frank E. Peters Municipal Golf Course.

Carthage finished 13th in Monday's tournament with a 355. Logan Jones turned in the team's best round, sharing 13th place with a 79.