Golfers to send Neil to state tourney

Published 3:00 pm Wednesday, October 25, 2006

<i<The senior captain shoots a 71 Monday, but the team struggles in the short game.

Bainbridge boys golfer Jamie Neil will get to finish his career at state, but his teammates won’t be there with him.

The senior captain shot a one-under 71, but the rest of his teammates missed the cut Monday at the 3A Sea-King District 2 golf tournament at the Riverbend Golf Complex in Kent.

Peter Leslie shot a 77, while Kyle Hurt shot a 78.

Jack Seidl finished with an 80, while Sean Leonard shot an 83.

“It was just disappointing to see what happened,” head coach Bob Dwyer said. “The kids were in position to score. Their drives were right down the fairway, but they weren’t hitting the greens.

“I was disappointed for them. They all thought they had played pretty well, they just didn’t score. That’s always tough.”

Paired with the third to last group of Skyline’s Brad Kohlrus, Mercer Island’s Paul Mitzel and O’Dea’s Tyler Kato, Neil more than held his own.

He shot a 37 on the front nine, then turned it up on the back nine to shoot a 34 and turn in the best score out of the group.

Kohlrus shot a 72, while Kato turned in a 74 and Mitzel had a 76.

“That’s his best score ever,” Dwyer said. “I could tell he was nervous.

“He knew the numbers were going to be low with the quality of play, but he did all right. Not too many people broke par.”

Neil finished tied for sixth with Sandy Vaughan of O’Dea.

Jake McRoberts of Seattle Prep was the champion, as he came out of nowhere to shoot a 6-under 66.

His finish propelled the Panthers past O’Dea for the upset and the district team title.

Mercer Island placed third, while Eastside Catholic was fourth. Bainbridge finished in seventh as a team.

“He (McRoberts) was (Prep’s) fourth golfer for most of the year,” Dwyer said. “But he came out and just busted it.”

The 3A state tournament for the boys will be held May 22-23, 2007 at the Homestead Farms Golf Resort in Lynden.

“It’s a nice golf course,” Dwyer said. “It’ll be a fairly good test. It’ll throw some tricks at them, but they take care of it pretty well.”

For the girls, the 3A Sea-King District 2 golf tournament will be held May 15 at the West Seattle Golf Course.

The 3A state tournament will be held at the Sudden Valley Golf & Country Club in Bellingham May 22-23.