Barton qualifies for state

After it was over, Sidney’s Taylor Barton lay flat on his back beneath the bough of a large shade tree. It was a long day in near 90-degree heat, but Barton had accomplished what he set out to do.

By finishing sixth in the Class B, District four Golf Tournament at Scotts Bluff Country Club yesterday, Barton qualified for the state tournament with a five-over par 77. The state’s are scheduled for May 21-22 at Jackrabbit Run Golf Course in Grand Island.

Overall, the host team was the easy winner of the team competition with a 299 total. McCook (315) finished in second and Holdrege (339) third. The top three teams also qualify to make the trip to Grand Island. For district champion Scottsbluff it is their seventh straight year qualifying as a team.

The Red Raiders finished fifth of the 12-teams competing with 359 strokes. Backing up Barton were Brendan Brown (86), Garrett Wamsley (98), Brady Radcliffe (98) and Ryan Birner (100).

Andrew Holloway of Scottsbluff won the individual competition by seven strokes with a 68. McCook’s Sean Backer was second with a 75. Three players scored 76 including Noah Hoffman of McCook, Michael Hadden of Scottsbluff and Mack Alspaugh of McCook.

For the freshman Birner it was a particularly dissapointing day since he has been consistently breaking 90 in competition. Apparently determined to fix what ailed his game, Birner spent time on the practice green in the hot sun after his round.

As for Barton he went out in a one-over 37 which was punctuated by a birdie on the ninth hole. But the back nine proved to be more of a challenge for the recently graduated high school senior. Though consistent off the tee all day, Barton endured some struggles on the back nine around the greens. He came in with a 40 which included a horse-shoe lip out on 13 from just over two feet.

“I couldn’t get up-and-down at all on the backside,” Barton said.

But Barton wasn’t the only one who struggled with the greens. Last week in a match with largely the same teams competing at this venue, the scores were noticeably lower. Hoffman believed the scores were higher because the greens had firmed up considerably.

Holloway, the district champion, is one of the few players who managed to better his score from the previous week. Despite his three-stroke improvement, his Scottsbluff team took six more strokes as a group from last week. Sidney was 19 strokes off its performance last week.

In order to crack the top ten last week a 76 was necessary. Barton shot 74. This week an 80 did the trick. Since only the top 10 qualify for states, that number was significant to Barton after his round.

“I was pretty upset after my round,” Barton said. “I thought it would take a 75 or better to qualify.”

As for next week Barton will be playing a course he has never played before. He and coach Chuck Christensen will head to to Grand Island on Sunday.

“We’ll either play a practice round on Sunday and rest on Monday or play a practice round on Monday,” Christensen said. “I’ll talk it over with Taylor and we’ll decide.”