Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Bulldogs eye sixth straight state title
FAYETTEVILLE — As soon as Palmer McSpadden pulled the pristine white glove over his hand, the ribbing started.
The Fayetteville junior knew it was coming, so he smiled and rolled with the good-natured jabs. The setting was the driving range at Fayetteville Country Club, but the players were as far removed from the normal starched-khakis crowd as a well-struck driver on a par5 tee box.
McSpadden is a junior on the Bulldogs’ boys golf team that is seeking its sixth-straight state title starting today, a mark that would put the Fayetteville program in the record books for most consecutive titles in the state’s highest classification. The Bulldogs currently share that honor with Cabot, which also strung together five in a row from 1997-2001.
“We kid each other a lot, but we are a hard-working and talented team,” McSpadden, who earned allstate honors last season, said. “We like to have fun, but when we tee it up, we know it’s time to be serious.”
Bulldogs coach Scott Williams said this year’s team, which went 18-0 in the regular season, is different from his other title-winning groups in the way the players approach the game.
They will try to complete the perfect run today and Wednesday in the Class 6A state golf tournament at Rolling Hills Country Club in Cabot. The state tournament will be a 36-hole event.
“This group has a lot more personality, they are a little looser,” Williams said. “And that scares me a little. But I know that they are not going to tense up.
“This bunch has been a little harder for me to coach. In the past, I’ve been more hands-on and this year’s team is more handsoff. They are a little more free.”
Denver Davis is a senior leader for the team who will take his game to Arkansas in the fall. Davis was also an all-state player in last year’s team.
Davis said he had good role models to follow in former players like Luke Long and Matt Cole, and has tried to be a leader for the younger team members.
“The main thing I try to tell them is to just have fun,” Davis said. “We have a good team and we have a lot of guys playing really well right now.”
Williams said the players
have embraced the burden of keeping the streak alive, but he knows the pressure to hoist the championship trophy is there.
“I would say we don’t feel it, but that would not be truthful because you do have those expectations of yourself and for your kids,” Williams said. “All of these guys, they don’t know anything but state championships.
“We know these things run in cycles and that will end one day. But we’re trying to be in control of that when it comes to an end. If we get beat, we get beat, but we don’t think about that aspect.”
McSpadden said the Bulldogs are confident heading to the state tournament.
He said the Cabot course sets up well for his game, which is booming drives and a solid putter.
“We know we have the talent to win it,” McSpadden said. “We all do what we need to do.”