Two of the top Class 6A girls golf teams -- and two of the best individual golfers in the state -- went head to head Monday with "The Cup" on the line.
Siloam Springs senior Brinkley Beever and Greenwood's Sydnie Gamble each shot 33, but the Lady Bulldogs shot four strokes better than the Lady Panthers and claimed a 122-126 victory in a nine-hole match at Siloam Springs Country Club.
Greenwood, by virtue of its four-stroke win, edged out Siloam Springs by one stroke to claim "The Cup" trophy, which goes to the winner of the two teams' head-to-head matchup. Siloam Springs defeated Greenwood by three strokes in an 18-hole match at Ben Geren Golf Course in Fort Smith on Aug. 24.
"It was an exciting match today that went down to the last hole," said Siloam Springs golf coach Michael Robertson. "Each matchup went back and fourth. It had a state tournament feel on the last hole with everyone standing around watching the last girls group finish."
The race for "The Cup" may be settled for 2017, but the Lady Panthers will get one more shot at Greenwood next week in the Class 6A State Girls Golf Tournament in Mountain Home, where Greenwood, Siloam Springs and Searcy are expected to be among the top teams at the tournament. The Lady Panthers are chasing their first state championship.
"I'm proud of our girls," Robertson said. "Coming into the season we knew Greenwood was a team to beat and our head-to-head with them was separated by one stroke for the season."
The top golfers in the match certainly didn't disappoint.
Gamble took the early lead on Beever, but the Siloam Springs senior was able to catch Gamble in the end. Beever's nine-hole round of 33 was a career low in a high school match. It was also her last regular season high school match as she left for Pebble Beach, Calif., on Tuesday to play in the PURE Insurance Championship.
"Fun to see Brinkley play the best round of her career in what was essentially her senior night," Robertson said. "She will have a great week in California and I know will come back with some great experience as we head into state."
Greenwood's Ella Austin shot 43 and Jordyn Lane a 46 for Greenwood's other two scores. Junior Kaitlyn Robinson shot 46 for Siloam Springs with junior McKenzie Blanchard at 47.
"If you take away our first two holes today this was the probably the lowest round we have ever shot," Robertson said. "We had just a really poor start, but they held it together, rallied and played some of their best golf of the season down the stretch. McKenzie and Kaitlyn have been very solid all season. I expect them to have a great week and it carry over into state."
Kendall McCormick shot a 53 for Siloam Springs, while Ella Zaidner shot 72 and Kendi Williamson a 71 in junior varsity action. The Lady Panthers were without junior Jaelee Snyder and freshman Makenna Thomas.
Boys
Greenwood had four players shoot below 40 and the Bulldogs completed their season sweep of Siloam Springs 142-157.
"The boys played really well today," Robertson said. "That's a good score. Greenwood just had a couple of great rounds today and give them credit for that. I'm proud of how our boys have played over the last couple of weeks. The scores are starting to get where we expect them to be. We are hitting it better and avoiding the big numbers."
Greenwood's Nathan Munday shot 32 and Evan Griffith carded a 34. Houston Sewell and Bradley Brotherton each shot 38 for the Bulldogs.
Junior Karson Clement led Siloam Springs with a 37, while junior Josh Johnson shot 39, sophomore Luke Baker 40, junior Chase Beyer 41 and sophomore Evan Sauer 46.
"Karson and Josh have played really solid over the last few matches," Robertson said. "Luke and Chase were back where we need them to be. All of our guys are playing with more confidence and I expect us to finish playing our best golf of the season. This week is going to be a good one for our boys."
Up next
Siloam Springs is scheduled to host Springdale Har-Ber and Bentonville West on Wednesday at Siloam Springs Country Club and then play its final match of the regular season on Thursday at Rogers Heritage.
The state girls golf tournament begins Monday at Big Creek Golf and Country Club in Mountain Home, while the state boys tournament is Oct. 2-3 at Jonesboro Country Club.
Sports on 09/20/2017