Siloam Springs Golfers Open Season

Staff Photo Graham Thomas Brandon Coale, senior golfer, has been a mainstay on the course for Siloam Springs since he was a freshman. Coale and the Panthers opened golf season Monday at the Bomber Invitational held at Big Creek Golf and Country Club in Mountain Home.
Staff Photo Graham Thomas Brandon Coale, senior golfer, has been a mainstay on the course for Siloam Springs since he was a freshman. Coale and the Panthers opened golf season Monday at the Bomber Invitational held at Big Creek Golf and Country Club in Mountain Home.

SILOAM SPRINGS -- When the Siloam Springs boys golf team got invited to play Sept. 20 in the Hurricane Invitational at Jonesboro Country Club, coach Michael Robertson jumped at the opportunity for two reasons.

One, Jonesboro Country Club is the site of the Class 6A Boys State Golf Tournament. Two, it's a sign of respect that the Panthers are considered one of the better teams in Class 6A along with defending state champion Jonesboro.

2014 golf schedule

Siloam Springs Panthers & Lady Panthers

Date^Opponent^Course^Time

Aug. 4-5^Mountain Home Bomber Invitational^Big Creek^8 a.m.

Aug. 6^Springdale Invitational (boys)^Springdale Country Club^8 a.m.

Aug. 13^at Rogers^Lost Springs^3:30 p.m.

Aug. 26^at Fayetteville^Paradise Valley^3:30 p.m.

Aug. 28^at Greenwood^Vache-Grasse^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 4^at Harrison^Harrison Country Club^3:30 a.m.

Sept. 6^Lyle Licht Memorial Tournament^Siloam Springs Country Club^8 a.m.

Sept. 8^Springdale^Siloam Springs Country Club^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 9^at Shiloh Christian^The Creeks-Cave Springs^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 11^at Alma^Eagle Crest^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 16^at Rogers Heritage^Prairie Creek^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 20^at Hurricane Invitational^Jonesboro Country Club^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 22^Greenwood^Siloam Springs Country Club^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 25^at Springdale Har-Ber^Razorback Golf Course^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 30-Oct. 2^Girls State Golf Tournament^TBA^TBA

Oct. 6-7^Boys State Golf Tournament^Jonesboro Country Club^TBA

"We're excited they are allowing us to come down there and play," Robertson said. "We take it as a challenge. There's no secret Jonesboro in 6A has been the team to beat. Word is they're pretty tough on their home course. We felt like it was to our advantage to go down there and get as much as experience as we can"

The Panthers -- who finished fifth overall in 6A last year behind Jonesboro, Russellville, Searcy and El Dorado -- received an early look at Jonesboro and other teams from around the state on Monday and and continuing today as they opened the 2014 season at the Bomber Invitational at Big Creek Golf and Country Club in Mountain Home.

It's the beginning of a challenging schedule that runs through the second week of October when the season ends with the state tournament.

By then, Robertson said, the Panthers should know how good they really are.

"We're going to be able to tell by the end if we're playing like we need to go compete," he said. "We'll go play our schedule and see what happens. Just like any sport, playing our best at the end is what matters."

Senior golfer Brandon Coale will be in his fourth season in the Panthers' playing rotation and has had a strong summer, his coach said.

Coale has grown several inches taller over the last few years and adjusting to his bigger body led to some inconsistencies in his golf game, Robertson said. But through hard work, Coale seems to have worked out the kinks and is playing better than he ever has.

"He's played really consistent and worked his butt off over the last few months," Robertson said. "He knows this is his last go-around. He has high goals of playing at the next level, and he's working hard to get there."

Coale has played in tournaments in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas this summer. He's been shooting as low was 68 and not getting higher than 76, Robertson said.

"I don't know the exact number," Robertson said, "but he's basically played in a tournament every day the last month and a half."

Junior Aaron Jones had also started since his freshman season and will be a big contributor along with sophomore Cody Beyer, who was the Panthers' top scorer at state last year as a freshman.

"If we're going to be the team we want to be -- I think we're expected to be a team that can compete -- they've got to play really consistent," Robertson said of Jones and Beyer. "They've both had some great rounds this summer. Both of them are capable of shooting under par. We've just got to get them to do it by the end of the year, get them to be more consistent."

Senior Brendan Lee is another four-year player for the Panthers who has really improved in recent months, Robertson said.

"Brendan has always been able to hit it a long way," Robertson said. "He's playing more consistent. When he came in as a freshman, I know he had big expectations and so did we. He's playing really well. ... If we can get him and Cody and Aaron to be consistently under 80, we've got a chance to beat anyone."

A cluster of players are all vying for time for the fifth scoring position.

Seniors Hunter Tilly, Mitchell Baker, Cody Casebeer and Tucker Gambill, junior Kyle Comiskey and sophomores Josh Hunt and Noah Karp are all in the mix, Robertson said.

"Those guys are battling for our fifth spot," Robertson said. "Each one has really good days where they're right there and then they drop back and someone else moves forward. They're all guys that are capable of playing well but have to do it more often. They're all working real hard to get there."

Freshmen Jaxon Brown and Fernando Vega and sophomores Will Gambill, Solo Jackson are also improving every day, Robertson said.

"They just need to keep working," he said. "When they get an opportunity to see time in JV matches, they need to go out and play well.

"There's no doubt we had a good team last year. I think we were one more good round away from being right there at the end. I know Cody Beyer got some good experience. He's what's exciting. All three in top 3, every one of our guys has improved from last year. That's exciting because we're not staying the same. We've gotten better."

On the girls side, the Lady Panthers only have one player returning with varsity experience in junior Amanda Glass. The rest of the roster is made of three sophomores and one freshman.

"From a team standpoint, we're young and inexperienced as far as high school players go," Robertson said. "Amanda's the only one that's played for us, so we're looking for her to guide the other girls and lead. This will be a different year for us in girls. We don't have that one girl that's going to shoot super, super low. What we do have is a chance to get better every week, learn and improve and hopefully be playing our best at the end of the year."

Glass, Robertson said, is a girl who juggles "a million things," including academics, band and swimming to go with golf.

"This is the part of the year where she gets to focus on golf," he said.

The golf team took its annual preseason trip to Russellville last week, and Robertson said he began to notice improvement with Glass.

"She's started to play better," he said. "We got back from our trip last week, and she played a lot better the second day. I think she's starting to come around. The thing about Amanda is she's not use to having to be the vocal leader. It's a challenge she's taking on, and I'm excited to see her do that."

Freshman Brinkley Beever has played in a lot of First Tee tournaments and has a lot of potential, Robertson said.

"She has a nice, natural swing, and she really works hard at it," Robertson said. "As a freshman coming in, she's having to learn the high school game and what's expected. She's one of those that I expect will settle in and be a really good player for us at the end.

Sophomores Bailey Turner, Halle Heavener and Alli Tolliver are also on the team. Turner played junior varsity last year, while Tolliver and Heavener are new.

"They're all eager and excited to learn and improve," Robertson said. "I'm excited about their energy and their enthusiasm and expect them to keep improving every day, and we'll see where we're at the end."

Sports on 08/05/2014

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