Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Fayetteville golfers win Class 7A state championship.
FAYETTEVILLE — Top to bottom, Fayetteville is again the top boys’ golf program in Class 7A.
The Bulldogs got a medalist performance from senior Luke Long, and used its depth across the rest of the lineup to capture the Class 7A state tournament crown Wednesday at Fayetteville Country Club with a two-day total of 595.
For Fayetteville, the victory is a third consecutive state championship in boys golf.
“It’s special to win at anytime and it’s difficult to win at anytime,” Fayetteville golf coach Scott Williams said. “I know there were times we made it look closer than it needed to be, but we stuck to our guns and the kids went out there and proved it on the course and brought another state championship to Fayetteville.”
The Bulldogs built a sixstroke lead after Tuesday’s first round, but believed they could improve on their four-player total of 300 from the opening round. They were correct, as Long, Jake Warner, Jackson Cole and John Gibson combined for a 295 score Wednesday to build on their lead over runner-up Little Rock Catholic, who finished with a final tally of 608.
Long won medalist honors at the Class 7A tournament for a second time in three years. He entered the final round tied for the lead, but pulled away from the pack with an even-par 70 Wednesday for his final
score of 1-over 141.
“This was very important because I wanted to go out on a good note, this being my senior year,” said Long, who has committed to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. “I wanted to play well and help get one last championship for the team.
“I just played very defensively and conservatively and went for the middle of the greens and tried to make sure not to put up any big numbers.”
Long is one of three golfers — along with Jacob Winkel of Rogers Heritage and Mitchell Ford of Little Rock Catholic — to advance from the Class 7A Tournament to the overall state tournament, to be held Oct. 15 at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.
Long won the overall tournament as a sophomore in 2013.
“That course is tough and you never know what you’re going to get,” Long said. “It’s going to be the best players in the state down there.”
Conway finished third with a 617 total and Rogers High took fourth at 621, getting an even par 70 from Spencer Eiserman in Wednesday’s final round.
“The depth of our team is what you felt like was going to give us a shot at winning,” Williams said. “That proved to be the difference.
“And truly this was a tournament filled with some great golfers this year. So that makes it even more special, knowing you beat some really good teams.”