Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Phillips guides Tigers to win at Springdale
SPRINGDALE — Bentonville High is off to another strong start after winning the boys Class 6A state golf championship last season.
Bentonville won the team title and Phisher Phillips had the low score Tuesday at the Roy Hobbs Springdale Bulldog Invitational at Springdale Country Club.
Bentonville shot a 287 on the par 72, 6,619 yards course to win the nine-team tournament. Rogers finished second with 305, followed by Fayetteville and Springdale HarBer, which tied for third place at 316.
Phillips shot a 3-under 72 to earn medalist honors. Alexander Apolskis shot 72 for the Tigers, followed by Murphy Allard and Michael Senn with 73.
The four are the top returners for a Bentonville team that captured its first state championship last year in boys golf after beating Little Rock Catholic in two playoff holes. Bentonville started the 2020 season by winning the team title last week at the Kingswood Golf Course in Bella Vista.
“Phisher was outstanding,” Bentonville coach Kent Early said. “He’s had an unbelievable week. He had a great tournament at the Southern Amateur then went to Owasso, Okla., and shot 8-under for two days, and what he did today
is just an extension of that. This is the first tournament we’ve played with these four guys today and they all played well.”
Phillips said he was bothered somewhat by the strong winds that occasionally swept north to south Tuesday at the Springdale Country Club. But he still shot 3-under Par and finished with a flurry after he directed a long putt near the flag on No. 18.
“The wind definitely affected things,” Phillips said. “The last hole, that was a 4-iron into a par 3, the longest par of the day. But I hit it solid onto the right side of the green and had about a 30-foot that I got to within about 2 feet and
tapped it in.
Fayetteville tied for third place with a young group headed by Zach Gardner, who shot a 72.
“Zach Gardner, a sophomore, shot really well,” Fayetteville coach Scott Williams said. “We had two sophomores and three freshmen playing and I thought they showed a very good glimpse of the future of our program and where we’re headed. Even though we didn’t win first place, we accomplished our goal by getting some experience and building for our future.”
The tournament was played with several protocols Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the Arkansas Department of Health require for team sports because of covid-19. Instead of gathering around a large scoreboard to see the final results, scorecards were gathered and players left after their final round to follow social distancing rules.
Golfers were required to wear masks when coming within 6 feet of another player after each round, and groups were limited to no more than four over the 18-hole course under covid-19 protocols.