HIGH SCHOOL GOLF

LR Christian senior controls game at North Hills

Cole Pangburn of Pulaski Academy chips onto the 11th green Wednesday during the 5A-Central golf tournament at the Greens at North Hills in Sherwood.
Cole Pangburn of Pulaski Academy chips onto the 11th green Wednesday during the 5A-Central golf tournament at the Greens at North Hills in Sherwood.

There were no birdies on Tristan Talbert’s scorecard Wednesday afternoon, but more importantly, there were no disasters either.

Talbert, a senior from Little Rock Christian, fired a solid 81 at The Greens at North Hills in Sherwood to claim medalist honors at the 5A-Central golf tournament. Talbert was two strokes better than teammate Win Johnson and Pulaski Academy senior Cole Pangburn.

“This course is really tight, so you have to keep it in the fairways,” said Talbert about North Hills’ 6,048-yard layout. “I tried to get the ball close to the green and get it up-and down from there or at least bogey the hole. … With the speed of these greens, I figured no one would go too low. I was just trying to avoid big numbers.”

Talbert posted 9 pars, 8 bogeys and 1 double bogey in Wednesday’s round. The double bogey came on the 138-yard, par-3 No. 15 when he three-putted.

“The greens were fast, but after you play a couple of holes, you learn to adjust,” Talbert said.

Johnson also avoided big numbers in putting up his 83. His round included 1 birdie, 3 double bogeys, 7 bogeys and 7 pars.

Pangburn had two triple bogeys during his round, but he also collected two birdies and an eagle on the 321-yard, par-4 No. 16.

“I wasn’t playing very well so I decided to go for it and try to make something happen,” said Pangburn, who blasted his tee shot to within 7 feet of the pin before sinking the putt. “When I hit it I thought to myself this is really going to be good or it’s going to be really bad. Fortunately, it turned out for the best.”

Pangburn followed the eagle on 16 with a tee shot on the 168-yard, par-3 17th, that hit the hole and came to rest a few feet from the pin.

Little Rock Christian ran away with the boys team title, scoring a 340. Pulaski Academy was 30 strokes back.

Pulaski Academy freshman Audrey Pulliam coasted the girls title. She fired a 95, while her teammate Erin Boyd was second with a 113.

“I could have played a little better,” Pulliam said. “But I’m pretty happy with my score. … I’ve played the course before and I thought the greens were a lot faster then.”

Pulaski Academy won the girls team title with a 335. Little Rock Christian finished second with a 412.

5A-WEST

Goblins up streak to 9

HARRISON - Harrison’s boys team had no trouble claiming its ninth consecutive 5A-West Conference championship as the Goblins rolled to a 29-stroke victory at Harrison Country Club.

Only five golfers finished the day shooting in the 70s, and four of them were Goblins. Austin Price led the way with a 71 and edged out teammate Wilson Marseilles by three strokes for the individual title.

“We played about as well as we can,” said Harrison Coach Don Price, the father of Austin Price. “We may have won others by as much, but I can’t recall us shooting a 300 as a team.”

Shiloh Christian finished second after shooting 329. The Saints were led by Kyle Robinson, who shot a 76 to finish third. Alma shot 348 and was third.

Austin Price had a double bogey on No. 3 and a bogey on 15, but was solid otherwise.

“I hit 11 greens and had 27 putts,” he said. “I thought I had a pretty good day overall. We were all pretty confident coming into today. It’s always better to play at home than somewhere else. It feels great to keep our streak going.”

Shiloh Christian’s girls team shot a 301 and won the team title. Kelly Lesh led the Lady Saints, shooting 92 and finishing runner-up to Clarksville’s Mackenzie Douglas, who shot an 80.

Clarksville finished second at 318, while Alma was third at 322.

Douglas’ 80 was the sixth best score of the day, boys or girls.

“I think I should’ve done a lot better,” said Douglas, a sophomore who finished in the top three at last year’s district tournament. “I missed a putt on the last hole that I should’ve made, but I thought I had a pretty good day overall on the course.” - Scott McDonald

Sports, Pages 24 on 09/26/2013

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