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Triumphant Tigers conquer Neosho Invitational for fifth consecutive season
For a fifth consecutive season, the Nevada Tiger golf team is champions of the Neosho Invitational — also known as the Neosho Kick-off Tournament.
Thursday’s triumph at Neosho Municipal Golf Course may very well have been the most impressive of all — as Nevada High School entered the season facing a considerable amount of uncertainty after losing its top three golfers from a year ago.
“Going into this tournament, I wasn’t sure how we would fair as a team,” noted 14th-year Nevada head coach, Brian Leonard.
The unique format of the eight-school invitational is comprised of two golfers from each team competing individually, two teaming up to play “best-ball,” and two pairing up to compete in a “scramble” format. The four scores are then tallied together for the overall team score.
Nevada’s Bronson Smith led the charge for the Tigers, carding an 18-hole score of 5-over par 76. Smith’s score initially landed him a first-place tie, but the standout junior had to settle for second after coming up on the short end of the tiebreaker. Two years ago at the same tournament, NHS (then) junior John Quitno, netted the low individual score with a 75.
“I did feel certain Bronson would finish somewhere around the top of the individual field,” said Leonard, adding “I was hoping for anything under 79 or 80. Even though he finished bogey, double bogey, and bogey on the final three holes, I was still very pleased with his score of 76.”
Meanwhile, fellow Nevada junior Carter Swearingen opened the season with a bang, carding an 81, en route to a third-place individual finish.
“I was hoping Carter could keep his score under 85,” explained Leonard, “and was happy to see him start of the season in the low 80s.
In the scramble competition, Nevada’s Jonathan Portwood and Jordan Peckman excelled, with the senior duo collecting a third-place finish, carding an 89.
For Nevada in the best ball competition, first-year golfers Matt Thompson, a junior, and freshman Pierson Dennison slotted into a fifth-place finish.
Leonard noted that he was pleased with the overall performances of Portwood, Peckman, Thompson and Dennison — adding that first-time varsity golfers Thompson and Dennison have shown tremendous improvement over the past several weeks in the lead-up to the season.
“I am very proud of this young team and how they handled themselves on the course today,” said an elated Leonard.
Leonard said he still sees a lot of room for improvement.
“(We need) to practice harder and lower those scores each and every time we go out to play,” he said. “We still need to work very hard on the short game — chipping and pitching. The putting will continue to improve throughout the season due to the greens seasoning up during the spring weather. I’m not too concerned about the putting issues — until later in April.”
Leonard said consistency is key to his club’s success going forward.
“Consistency will be our focus the next several practices,” summed up Leonard. “Just hitting more balls on the range and playing a lot of golf when they can.”
Up next
The triumphant Tigers hit the links Thursday, March 29, for the Bird Dog Invitational. Opening tee times are set for 8:30 a.m. at Junction City’s Briarbrook Country Club.
See a future edition of the Daily Mail for all the latest on Nevada Tiger golf