Advance's Brian Whitson leads the way at Class 1 boys golf sectional

A double bogey on No. 3 could've signaled chaos for Brian Whitson on Monday, but it didn't.

The Advance junior recovered and carded an even-par 71 to claim medalist honors at the Class 1 Sectional 1 at Dalhousie Golf Club.

"He doesn't get down on a bad hole," Advance coach Neil Miles said about Whitson. "He might score a double or triple [bogey], but he knows there are two or three birdies out there to get. And he knows that."

The Hornets shot a combined 336 and cruised to a first-place finish in the team standings as well, followed by Gainesville (375) in a distant second. The top two teams and top 15 individuals not on those teams qualified for the Class 1 state tournament at Meadow Lake Acres Country Club in New Bloomfield, Missouri, on May 18-19.

Whitson, junior Spence Lorch and senior Grant Woodfin were the three members on last year's team, which was one player shy of qualifying for the team standings. The addition of freshman Carson Miles has given Advance its first complete team in the three years of the program's existence.

Advance's Brian Whitson, right, chats with Paul Hofstetter at the eighth hole tee box during the Class 1 sectional, Monday, May 11, 2015, at Dalhousie Golf Club. (Laura Simon)

"It's very satisfying," Neil Miles said about qualifying for state as a team. "... We're very happy with where we've come from two years ago."

Carson Miles fired an 84, while Lorch (89) and Woodfin (92) rounded out the Hornets' scores.

But much of the Hornets' success this season is attributed to Whitson, who played golf and baseball his freshman and sophomore years before he decided to focus his efforts on golf this season.

"I've gotten a lot better since I quit baseball. I've been more consistent," Whitson said. "I've had more feel for the game."

Whitson picked up his second birdie of the day at the 518-yard No. 7 and stayed at even-par until he wrapped up the front nine with a bogey at No. 9, which was playing as a par 3 instead of a par 4 due to construction on the hole. Whitson sent his tee shot into a bunker but recovered by setting up a 6-foot putt that barely missed.

Whitson said bouncing back from the early double bogey gave him plenty of confidence heading into the back half of the course.

"It felt good. It was big, and it kept my head in it," Whitson said. "I was thinking, 'Well, maybe I'm not going to shoot bad today. I'm going to keep going.'"

Advance's Spence Lorch watches his putt on the tenth green during the Class 1 sectional, Monday, May 11, 2015, at Dalhousie Golf Club. (Laura Simon)

The junior caught fire at the par-3 No. 13, where his tee shot set him up 6 feet from the hole. Whitson birdied the hole, made par at No. 14 and had an opportunity to eagle No. 15. He used a 5-wood to reach the green from a little more than 200 yards out on his second shot and two-putted from 18 feet for birdie.

Whitson said the approach on his second shot is always a point of emphasis.

"You want to put the ball exactly where you want it, and if you don't put it in the spots you need it to be, then you're just going to have a tough time shooting or scoring what you want," Whitson said. "Just missing where you need to miss is good. It'll put you in a good spot."

A birdie at No. 16, his third in four holes, placed Whitson at 2-under.

"I couldn't complain about it," Whitson said about the series of birdies. "I was hitting the ball just about how I want it. I was putting it right where I wanted to."

A four-foot miss at No. 17 and a tee shot that went out of play at No. 18 forced Whitson to settle for a pair of bogeys on the final two holes.

Although he was disappointed with how his day ended, Whitson said he's been focusing on closing out each round.

"It's been getting better throughout the year," he said. "We've played only two 18-hole matches. I'd have a good nine, and then my second nine, I'd shoot bad. ... It's getting better as the season's gone on."

The short game has been Whitson's biggest area of improvement this season, and Monday was no different. He finished the day with five birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey.

Whitson was most pleased with his approach shots and said his gameplan was to "just keep it simple."

"I was trying not to hit it in the tall grass, just straight," Whitson said. "If I couldn't hit my driver straight, I'd try to hit a 5-iron, something to get me in the fairway and just try to get myself around the green."

This year marks Whitson's third trip to the state tournament and Lorch's second. Whitson finished 19th as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore.

Neil Miles said he's anxious to see how his team performs on the big stage this time around.

"I'm just tickled to death for us to be able to make it," he said. "We put a lot of hard work in. I think we've had some good bounces this year. Dalhousie has been wonderful to us, and everything fell into place."

Team scores -- 1. Advance 336; 2. Gainesville 375; 3. The Fulton School at St. Albans 408; 4. Bloomfield 424; 5. Tipton 439; 6. St. Vincent 445

Individual scores by team

ADVANCE -- Brian Whitson 71, Carson Miles 84, Spence Lorch 89, Grant Woodfin 92

BARAT ACADEMY -- Sean Weber 74, Geoffrey Herr

BLOOMFIELD -- Peyton Bell 87, Andrew Northern 91, Sean Finney 99, Austin Bond 147

CABOOL -- Landon Taylor 95, Peyton Emery 105

CROCKER -- Zach Kubinski 105, Jared Bowling 108

CRYSTAL CITY -- Tyler Andrews 87, Logan Grove 105

THE FULTON SCHOOL AT ST. ALBANS -- Paul Hofstetter 84, Alec Loyd 86, Noah Currier 107, Annemarie Loyd 131, Matthew Fulton 133

GAINESVILLE -- Thomas Ritter 81, Drew Ritter 88, Thomas Pointer 98, Andrew Wallace 108, Noah Britt 108

IBERIA -- Jordan Barnett 92

LINN -- Cade Pinkerton 119

LUTIE -- Jaylon Stevens 95

NEW BLOOMFIELD -- Gannon Withers 86, Ridge Martin 99, Tyler Grace 99

RUSSELLVILLE -- Coy Bond 97, Austin Garrison 111

ST. VINCENT -- Ethan Holdman 97, Andrew Mudd 102, Brett Lottes 122, Nick Cissell 124

STOVER -- Brock Nolting 85, Brenden Bauer 95

THAYER -- Zackary Smith 89, Dagen Jones 114, James Ary 121

TIPTON -- Tristan Bolin 91, Brock Bookout 111, Johnathan Petree 115, Daniel Buschjost 122, Reagan Ranney 126