Carpenter claims Class 4 golf title; Central's Simmons ties for 6th

A string of pars down the back nine at Dalhousie Golf Club on Monday gave Washington's Brad Carpenter a share of the lead heading into the final round of the Class 4 Missouri state high school golf championships.

A similar string of pars Tuesday gave him a state title.

Carpenter, a senior who will attend Missouri State on a golf scholarship in the fall, again carded the day's best round, taming the gusty winds and tough pin placements over Dalhousie's 6,960-yard, par-71 layout with a 3-over 74 that gave a him two-day total of 145, eight strokes better than Rock Bridge's Matt Echelmeier.

"That's all I was trying to make," said Carpenter after scoring par on seven of his final nine holes. "Trying to hit the center of the green and two-putt."

Carpenter entered Tuesday's final round tied with Timberland's Joshua O'Hearn at even-par 71. O'Hearn quickly fell off the pace, shooting 6-over on the front nine. But Echelmeier, who began the day two strokes behind Carpenter, pulled within one after Carpenter bogeyed the par-4 ninth.

It stayed that way until the 515-yard, par-5 15th, when Echelmeier couldn't match Carpenter's par after going over the green on his third shot. He pitched short to about six feet, but two-putted for a bogey to fall two strokes behind.

Then, on the 415-yard, par-4 16th, Echelmeier's chip from the hillside on the left went through the green. He chipped back on but two-putted for a double bogey while Carpenter again made par to take a four-stroke advantage to the final two holes.

"I knew sitting on 15 tee I was one behind him, but I didn't try to force anything," Echelmeier said. "Just tried to play my own game. Didn't work out. I was happy with the way I played today. Brad played awesome. He deserved it for sure."

Carpenter enjoyed the battle down the stretch.

"Matt and I were battling all day, and that's good, because it keeps you on your toes and you try to match the other player's shot," Carpenter said. "I was rolling on the front nine, slipped up a little bit on the back nine, but we were competing all day."

Central senior Travis Simmons, who started play three shots off the lead after a first-round 74, had trouble negotiating the blustery winds and never challenged the leaders. His 10-over 81 left him tied for sixth with a two-day total of 155.

"I did start off well, but as the day went on, I didn't hole any putts," Simmons, who will attend Central Missouri in the fall, said. "I really couldn't get anything going. That's just how it goes some days. Unfortunately, it was the final round of the state tournament."

Simmons birdied the 544-yard, par-5 second hole to go 2-over for the tournament, but consecutive bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4 put him back to 4-over. Bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8 and a disastrous double bogey on No. 9 took him well out of the running for medalist.

"The wind was ridiculous," Simmons said. "I mean, I hit some great shots out there that turned out bad. And that's just how it goes when it's windy. Sometimes it goes in favor of you, and sometimes it hurts you."

A large gallery of family and friends followed Simmons' foursome around the course, which he appreciated.

"It was great to have everybody from home out here, following and supporting me. It really had like a [PGA] Tour atmosphere, and it was great to play with that. It was a lot of fun. I had a blast."

Central coach Garrett Pannier didn't downplay Simmons' sixth-place finish.

"Anytime you can be in the top 10 in the state, it's going to be a good two days for you," Pannier said.

Raymund Gonzalez of Parkway South matched Carpenter's round of 74 and vaulted into third place with a 153. Frankie Thomas of Marquette tied O'Hearn for fourth place at 154, one shot ahead of Simmons.

"I started well," Thomas said. "I was making putts and hitting the ball well. On the back I think I just kind of lost focus a little bit. I was having trouble controlling my flight, and I couldn't get up-and-down to save par, and that leads to bogeys. I caught a few bad breaks, but that's golf. I just wasn't hitting the ball well."

Rock Bridge won the team title with a two-day total of 640, eight strokes better than DeSmet, after entering the day's play with a seven-shot lead over the second-place team.

"It was brutal out there," Rock Bridge coach Doug Daniels said. "I knew that they were all worried that they weren't going to hold up the way they were playing. But the way the conditions were, the wind, the difficulty of the course, they just had to keep reminding themselves that everyone was going to have a hard time today. It's going to be a battle just to finish respectable. So what would normally look like a bad score on most days, today isn't going to be such a bad score. And you can't get down because of that."

Class 4

Team

1. Rock Bridge 311-329--640

2. DeSmet 324-324--648

3. Rockhurst 318-332--650

4. St. Louis University High 320-331--651

5. Chaminade 323-342--665

6. Glendale 321-349--670

7. Liberty 335-333--668

8. Lafayette (Wildwood) 345-385--730

Individual

(Top 15, all-state)

1. Brad Carpenter, Washington 71-74--145

2. Matt Echelmeier,Rock Bridge 73-78--151

3. Raymund Gonzales, Parkway South 79-74 -- 153

4. Joshua O'Hearn, Timberland 71-83--154

4. Frankie Y Thomas, Marquette 74-80--154

6. James William Siegfried, DeSmet 72-83--155

6. Travis Simmons, Central 74-81--155

8. Jack Knoesel, Rock Bridge 75-81--156

8. Nicholas Yuhas, Joplin 81-75--156

10. Joseph Jeffrey Williams, Kirkwood 76-82--158

11. Peter Lawrence Dierks, Rockhurst 76-83--159

11. Scott Thomas Schaeffer, SLUH 76-83--159

11. Chris Wootten, Francis Howell 73-86--159

14. Christopher Ferris, Lindbergh 82-78--160

14. Sam Parrott, Liberty 78-82--160

14. Thomas Rudawsky, Chaminade 82-78--160