OUTSTANDING PLAYER: BOYS GOLF

WHY HE WON:

Capping a stellar year, Cabot High School sophomore Connor Gaunt won the boys High School Overall golf tournament at the Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock. This victory helped cement Gaunt as the 2017 All-Arkansas Preps Boys Golf Player of the Year. “I’ve worked hard for [the championship], and it was hard work paying off,” he said. “It just shows that I can be really good being a sophomore playing against seniors.” During the overall tournament, Gaunt shot an even par 72, which included hitting two 25-foot putts for birdies in the first two par-3 holes he played. “That set the pace for my confidence for the rest of the day,” he said. On the back nine, Gaunt sank two more birdies and eventually earned a one-stroke victory over 2015 champion Wil Gibson of Jonesboro. Gaunt, who was named the 2016 Wendy’s Golf Player of the Year, also helped the Panthers achieve a second-place team finish at the state tournament. The team took home the conference championship. Coach Ronnie Tollett said that, overall, Connor has his game down; he just needs an occasional adjustment. Last year, Gaunt was the youngest player at a U.S. Open qualifer and finished in the top third, his father said. Nationally, Gaunt is ranked No. 1 for sophomores in Arkansas and No. 7 in ages 14-17 in the state. Nationally, he’s ranked 196 for the class of 2019 and 1,126 for ages 14-17. Gaunt has a handicap of 1. “He has his game in check,” Tollett said. “He knows how to correct what he’s doing wrong. Like all accomplished golfers, he can pretty much tell what [he is] doing wrong. Sometimes they need a little help with alignment or things like that. It’s just small things.” As for his interest in golf, Connor’s father, John Gaunt, said that as a toddler, Connor was already hitting the ball around. “You could tell real quick that he loved the game,” John said. “We started working on some basic fundamentals — the right grip, the right swing plane, the tempo, the stance, the alignment, just the basic stuff — when he was really young.” Connor said he enjoys playing golf because players have to think and plan ahead, it’s relaxing, and it’s a sport he can play for the rest of his life. In school, Connor has a 3.8 grade-point average, and in his spare time, he volunteers with a food bank in Beebe and helps with a community cleanup program in Cabot. Connor has already committed to playing golf for Arkansas Tech University in Russellville and plans to study business so he can become a financial planner.