McBride takes aim at a fantastic finish
There isn’t much that Simon McBride hasn’t accomplished on the golf course during his high school career.
The Paragould senior is a three-time all-state selection and a two-time medalist during state tournament play as the lowest overall scorer. He’s captured 5A-East Conference titles and won a Class 5A championship in 2018 as a sophomore with the Rams.
About the only thing missing from McBride’s resume is an Overall title.
He’ll try to add that to his collection today at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.
“I’d love to just really close my career win another win, especially at Overalls,” McBride said. “I actually think if I won Overalls, I may even get a couple of calls from some bigger colleges. That would feel good as well.
“The biggest thing is to just go out, do my best and have fun. But I’d really love to win it, too.”
McBride will begin his quest when he tees off in the last of the six boys groups at 8:50 a.m. He’ll be joined by fellow seniors Hunter Jowers of Valley View, the Class 4A winner, and Phisher Phillips of Bentonville, who held off his teammate Michael Senn in a playoff last week to win the Class 6A title. Senn, also a senior, will tee off at 8:30 a.m.
The first girls group is set to hit the 6,851-yard course at 9:30 a.m. with junior Kortnee Finch of West Side Greers Ferry, a third-place finisher in Class 1A, and sophomore Gracie Hubbard of Conway Christian, who grabbed third during the Class 2A tournament.
The defending Overall girls champion — North Little Rock junior Mackenzie Lee, who recently won the Class 6A title for the third year in a row — chose not to play this year, according to her Coach Brad Kilbury.
For McBride, winning the one tournament that’s eluded him would be the ultimate way to cap his standout tenure at Paragould.
“Golf is more of an individual sport, and you have some that have trouble finding ways to compete,” Paragould golf Coach Jace Watson said. “But with Simon, he likes to compete on every shot. His mental toughness is so strong, and he’s so consistent with his play.
“Every day, he goes out there and puts up low numbers. It actually surprised people at first because he was smaller than everybody when he started out. He’d sneak up on people with the way he play. But now he’s grown a little bit, and that surprise factor is gone.”
McBride nearly won last year’s Overall tournament as a junior. The left-hander shot a 4-over 76 to finish second behind Jonesboro’s Ben Sherman, whom McBride had outlasted previously in consecutive weeks during the conference and state events.
“It’s about whoever has the better day, to be honest,” McBride said. “The competition is just as good as me, so I’ve got to go out and try to do the best that I can regardless. When I’m hitting the ball good, that’s when I feel I’m playing my best.”
Watson said McBride’s best has far outdistanced any other golfer in the program’s history.
“To be part of a state championship team and then win two individual titles, nobody in our program has even done anything like that,” he said. “He’s a special player, but he’s definitely set a bar with us higher than anybody else has. I am looking forward to watching him [today] because it’ll be my last time coaching him in high school.
“That part is kind of sad. But I hope he goes out there, relaxes and plays his normal game. Win or lose, he’ll put out a good performance.”