FAYETTEVILLE -- It was more of the same Wednesday at the Class 7A boys golf state tournament.
Senior Luke Long picked up his second individual title in three years and the Bulldogs took advantage of their depth for a two-day total of 595 to capture their third consecutive state championship.
"It's special to win at any time and it's difficult to win at any time," Fayetteville Coach Scott Williams said. "I know there were times we made it look closer than it needed to be, but we stuck to our guns and the kids went out there and proved it on the course and brought another state championship to Fayetteville."
The Bulldogs led by six strokes after Tuesday's opening round, but Williams believed they could improve on their opening round of 300. He was right. Long, Jake Warner, Jackson Cole and John Gibson combined for a 295 in the final round to hold off runner-up Little Rock Catholic, which finished at 608.
Long entered the final round tied for the lead with Cabot's Blaine Calhoon at 71 but pulled away from the pack with an even-par 70 Wednesday to finish at 1-over 141.
"This was very important because I wanted to go out on a good note, this being my senior year," said Long, who has committed to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. "I wanted to play well and help get one last championship for the team.
"I just played very defensively and conservatively and went for the middle of the greens and tried to make sure not to put up any big numbers."
Long, Jacob Winkel of Rogers Heritage and Mitchell Ford of Little Rock Catholic advanced to the Overall tournament that will be held Oct. 15 at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.
Long won the Overall title as a sophomore in 2013.
"That course is tough and you never know what you're going to get," Long said. "It's going to be the best players in the state down there."
Conway finished third at 617 while Rogers High was fourth at 621.
"The depth of our team is what you felt like was going to give us a shot at winning," Williams said. "That proved to be the difference, and truly this was a tournament filled with some great golfers this year. So that makes it even more special, knowing you beat some really good teams."
Sports on 10/08/2015