Big finish not quite enough for Montgomery
GEORGETOWN — As the Montgomery boys golf team sat around a long wooden table inside the cafe at White Wing Golf Club on Tuesday afternoon, all the players could do was wait and enjoy the air conditioning that quelled their battle with the Texas heat.
The Bears entered the second day of the UIL Class 5A state championships in fifth place, hoping for a standout showing that would propel them up the leader board.
Montgomery did just that with a 17-stroke improvement from their opening-around aggregate score. Still, that was not quite enough to medal, however, as the Bears finished one stroke behind Granbury in fourth place with a two-day score of 597 (307-290).
Highland Park (290-291—581) won the state title, Boerne Champion (298-290—588) placed second, and Granbury (300296—596) took third.
“Today we had to play a really great round, and we basically did,” Montgomery coach Kirk Thomason said. “We made the turn at 144, which is even, and we just came up one short of medaling.
“We shot the low round of the day and came in fourth, so it’s a little bittersweet . ... But it was a great year, and we’re a hurting a little bit. We were just too far behind after the first day, and at state, it’s hard to make up. We made up a lot of ground and almost caught Granbury, but just not quite.”
The Bears were led by a pair of seniors — Hunter Bott and Terrin Anderson, who finished fifth and tied for sixth, respectively. Bott (7173—144) had the low round for Montgomery on Monday and finished even for the tournament. Anderson (75-70—145) was the catalyst in the second round and finished 1 over par for the tournament.
“Yesterday, I felt like for how windy it was, I hit the ball really well and scored well,” said Bott, who will continue his playing career at UTSA. “I made a couple more putts yesterday than I did today, but in the end, I’m pretty happy with how I handled the pressure and how I ended up scoring.”
Bott said he and Anderson essentially had been trading places as the Bears’ top finisher throughout the season. With their formidable 1-2 punch leading the way, Montgomery was able to get back to the state tournament for the first time since 2014.
“Me and Terrin go back and forth about every tournament,” Bott said. “It’s always fun when coach comes up to me and tells me that he’s whatever it is, however-many under par, and we’re right next to each other. So it’s always fun.”
While Bott and Anderson led the charge, the Bears also had two other seniors who were instrumental to the team’s success this spring — Bryson Thurston and Cade Walker. Thurston (7973—152) finished tied for 24th at state, and Walker (82-80—162) also came through with a stronger performance in the second round. Junior Luke Kennedy (87-74—161) rounded out the team and will be the only returnee next year.
“It’s been awesome for the past three, four years playing with these guys and just really becoming close,” Bott said. “We’ve had our differences and still been close as a family with each other. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’ll miss them all.”
Clear Springs senior Niko Nebout was the top finisher from the Greater Houston area in the Class 6A tournament at Legacy Hills, tying for third place with a 4-under-par 140 (71-69).
Stratford was the area’s top finishing team, taking fifth place with a score of 600 (303-297). Drew Murdock (69-76—145) was the Spartans’ low scorer.
After shooting 40 over par on in the opening round, The Woodlands made a massive improvement in the second round at 2 under par. It was the second-lowest round of the tournament to the 11under-par performance put on by state champion Austin Westlake on Tuesday.