CLASS 7A BOYS

Eagle pushes round to next level

Little Rock Catholic’s Miles Smith shot a 5-under-par 67 in the first round of the Class 7A boys state golf tournament and leads Cabot’s Connor Gaunt by one stroke.
Little Rock Catholic’s Miles Smith shot a 5-under-par 67 in the first round of the Class 7A boys state golf tournament and leads Cabot’s Connor Gaunt by one stroke.

CONWAY -- Miles Smith turned a good day into a great day with an eagle near the end of his round Tuesday at the Centennial Valley Country Club.

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Cabot’s Connor Gaunt started his day with an eagle on No. 10, then finished with a birdie on No. 9 to shoot a 4-under 68, but he trails Miles Smith of Little Rock Catholic by one stroke at the Class 7A boys state golf tournament in Conway.

Smith, a senior at Little Rock Catholic, fired a 5-under 67 on the 6,700-yard course and leads Cabot sophomore Connor Gaunt by one stroke heading into today's final round.

"I felt like I played pretty well," said Miles, who finished sixth in the Class 7A state tournament a year ago at the Fayetteville Country Club. "I've been working at it. I've been gearing up for this ever since I started playing golf."

Fayetteville won the 7A-West Conference title with a 3-over 291. All five of the Bulldogs' team members shot 76 or lower, and the team finished 36 strokes better than runner-up Rogers (327).

Cabot claimed the 7A-Central championship with a 304. Catholic and North Little Rock tied for second with 320s.

Conway's Jackson Goodwin hit a hole in one on No. 14, a 175-yard par 3. Goodwin finished the day with an 11-over 83.

For Smith, his hole of the day came on No. 7, a 540-yard par 5. Smith hit a driver down the right side of the fairway and used a 5-iron to hit the green. He then hit a 40-foot putt for the eagle.

Smith said the ease of the hole "all depended on the wind."

"If the wind was in my face, I was going to lay up," said Smith, whose round started on the back nine. "But the wind was a crosswind. I was thinking, 'I gotta go for it. It's my senior year. I gotta go for it.' That was the main thing."

Smith had five birdies to go along with his eagle. He suffered two bogeys, on No. 1 and No. 11.

"We fed off each other all day," said Gaunt, who had an eagle, three birdies and one bogey during his round. "When he eagled No. 7, I bogeyed that hole. But I got a shot back on the last hole. It was a good back-and-forth battle between us all day."

Gaunt's day started with an eagle on No. 10, a 493-yard par 5. Gaunt used a driver and a 6-iron to put his eagle attempt to within 15 feet of the pin.

Gaunt also finished his round on a positive note, rolling in a 12-footer for birdie on No. 9, a 534-yard par 5.

"That should keep the confidence flowing," Gaunt said. "My putter stayed hot today. I think I'll have a good night's sleep after a shot like that."

"Every tournament, you want to go out and shoot the lowest possible score you can, and that's what I felt I did today," Smith said. "There were a few shots I could have made today, but a (67), I'll take that any day."

Junior Fisher Vollendorf led Fayetteville's effort with a 1-under 71 to claim medalist honors for the 7A-West. His round included one eagle, three birdies, two bogeys and one double-bogey.

"I felt very good," Vollendorf said. "I thought the conditions were extremely tough, but I'm pleased with how I played."

Like Gaunt, Vollendorf collected his eagle on No. 10. He hit his driver long but into the right rough on his first shot, but his wedge shot came within a foot of the hole.

"That was nice," he said.

Sports on 10/05/2016

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