Poor putting fails to derail Werner

How dominant has Tanner Werner been in junior golf in this area?

Even when he's not at his best, he's usually better than the rest.

Werner, who will be a senior at Jackson High School this year, demonstrated that point Tuesday during the second and final round of the Missouri Big "I" Championship at Dalhousie Golf Club.

Tied for first among 51 boys from around the state after shooting a 1-over-par 73 in the first round, Werner struggled to a 78 on Tuesday but still finished second to claim one of the four Missouri qualifier spots in the national Big "I" tournament July 27 to 30 in Chesterfield, N.J.

Werner finished five shots behind winner Cy Moritz of Owensville, Mo., who started the day one stroke off the lead and carded the low round of the tournament Tuesday with an even-par 72. Despite seven bogeys, Werner finished three shots ahead of his first-round co-leader, Bryce Dolan of Washington, Mo., who shot an 81 in the second round. Dolan lost a two-hole sudden-death playoff with Michael Odenwald of St. Louis for the fourth qualifier spot.

Tanner Werner hits a fairway shot to the seventh green Tuesday. (Fred Lynch)

Taylor Cox of Columbia, Mo., finished third, two shots behind Werner after following up a first-round 80 with a 73.

Moritz, who will be a senior at Owensville High School, recently finished third at the Class 3 high school tournament, finishing just one stroke behind the co-champions.

"I never heard of him, but he is good," Werner said. "He hit a lot of greens and made some putts."

Werner lost his lead after bogeys on the first three holes and never got it back. He covered the front nine in 4-over-par 40.

"I knew I had to shoot somewhere around 3-over par, so after three holes I was like, 'I don't have much room for error,'" Werner said. "I was able to get it together a little bit, but then I hit some bad shots where my only main option was bogey."

Tanner Werner watches his iron shot from the eighth tee box Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at Dalhousie Golf Club. (Fred Lynch)

Werner had his lone birdie of the day on the par-4 10th, but came home with bogeys on Nos. 12, 16 and 17.

"I figured I needed to make birdie on 18," said Werner, who parred the par-5 hole. "The people in front of me I didn't think were playing as good as yesterday, so I knew scores were going to be higher, but I thought I'd probably need to make a birdie to shoot 77 and have a chance. But it worked out."

While Werner sputtered in the sweltering heat, Moritz pulled away.

Moritz balanced three bogeys in his round with three birdies, shooting 36 on both the front and back. He cruised to his first victory of the summer and his sixth top 20 finish.

"I was putting good and I was hitting the ball good," Moritz said. "It was mainly my putter. My putter kept me going."

Tanner Werner watches his putt on the sixth green Tuesday.

That was a contrast to Werner.

"Both days I didn't make a putt outside of 5 or 6 feet," Werner said. "I couldn't get a putt to go in."

Despite his struggles, Werner was the top finisher of the local entries in the field. Travis Simmons of Jackson matched Werner's 78 and finished at 157. Other local golfers were Corey Connell (82-79--161), Gunnar Knudtson (83-83--166) and Drew Hosp (85-89--174). Chase Holden of Dexter, Mo., who started two shots off the lead, followed his 75 with an 81 for a 156.

Werner has been among the premiere names among local youth golfers for years. After faring well in junior events during grade school and junior high, he burst on the high school scene as a freshman with a second-place finish in Class 4.

Despite winning two SEMO Conference titles and a district title since then, he has not followed up his first-year success at the state tournament. He missed out on all-state honors -- the top 15 finishers at the state tournament -- his sophomore and junior years.

"I played good up to state this year," Werner said. "I couldn't get 18 holes together. I played a good nine holes both days, and I played bad the other nine holes."

This summer he has been concentrating on junior tournaments with the hope of securing a college scholarship. This was his fourth tournament this summer, and he now has a place in the national Big "I" tournament and plans to compete in an upcoming AJGA event in Springfield, Mo.

"The juniors this summer is probably the biggest one if you want to play college golf," Werner said.

The Missouri Big "I" tournament is one of 38 state tournaments for the national event, which will feature the top four boys and top two girls from each qualifier.

Dalhousie, which hosted AJGA events the last three years, was the host site for the Missouri Big "I" for the first time.

The tournament has had local qualifiers for the state tournament until last year. Last year's Missouri Big "I" tournament was held at Silo Ridge in Bolivar, Mo., and is being rotated around the state.

"The Big 'I' national tournament is as good as playing in any AJGA event out there," tournament director Molly Hudgins said.