H.S. Golf: Albany boys nab bronze at Class 2A state tournament

AUSTIN – Albany finished third at the Class 2A boys state golf tournament Tuesday at Lions Municipal Golf Course.

Albany, which was three shots off the lead after Day 1, carded a 332 on the final day to finish with at 638.

“Today, we kind of reverted back to some old ways, but yesterday we put ourselves in a good spot, played really well,” Albany coach Tate Thompson said. “Today, we just kind of made some bad course decisions, bad club choices and things like that. Let one or two bad holes turn into three or four.”

Lindsay shot 314 to defend its state title with a 617.

New Home, which began the day two shots behind second-place Albany, had a 321 to overtake the Lions for second with a 629 total.

Sonora, which began the day 15 shots behind Albany, finished one shot behind the Lions for fourth.

It was Albany’s second straight state tournament appearance. The Lions finished fifth last year with a 710, and Thompson doesn’t lose a player from this year’s team. The Lions are all juniors with one freshman.

“Those juniors had some experience last year with it, and they were able to go into that first day and not really let the big stage affect them, put up really good numbers,” Thompson said. “Then Day 2, we just couldn’t quite get it going. That’s what separates state champions from the others is being able to do that two days in a row. Hopefully, we learned our lesson on that.”

Still, the Lions made steady improvement this year, and they finished better than last year.

“All year these guys picked right up where they left off last year,” Thompson said. “We started shooting in the 320s, then the three-teens. Getting down below 310 yesterday was a big milestone for us. Just watching them get better all year was a lot of fun.”

It could set the stage for even bigger things next year.

“We’ve got everybody back, and some of these schools might graduate some kids,” Thompson said. “So, yeah, we have a shot at getting that gold medal next year.”

Sonora’s Dylan Ford shot 2-under-par 69 for the second straight day to win the individual title with a 138. Lindsay’s Landry Rogers was second (69-71—140), and Woden’s Jayce Driver was third (69-72—141).

Lute Wheeler had Albany’s best finish. He tied two others for eighth at 153, after shooting 78 on Tuesday.

Huffman Heatly (76-83-159), Ayden Balliew (79-82—161). Luke Marshall (76-90—166) and Houston Heatly (89-89—178) rounded out the scores for Albany.

Sidney’s Dummond takes third

At Kyle, Sidney’s Grant Dummond finished third at the Class 1A boys state golf tournament – three shots behind the winner at Plum Creek Golf Course.

Dummond shot 8-over-par 79 to finish with a two-day total 156. Chester’s Will Thomason shot a 75 to win the individual title with a 153 – one shot better than D’Hanis’ Kenny Arnett (75-79-154).

Eula’s Robert Sanford had the best finish among Big Country athletes (83-90-173).

Westbrook finished ninth in the team competition (374-377—751).

Wildorado (346-348—694) won the team title, followed by Borden County (341-364-705) and Springlake-Earth (351-358—709).

Brannon Larson (89-92—181), Parker Matlock (91-91-182), Greyson Jeffrey (94-97—191) and Chance Morris (111-114—225) rounded out the scores for Westbrook.

Comanche’s Jones takes sixth

At Austin, Comanche’s Ace Jones shot 3-over-par 75 to finish sixth at the Class 3A boys state golf tournament at Jimmy Clay Golf Course.

Jones finished with a two-day total 151. Orangefield’s Xander Parks won the tournament (70-72-142), followed by Callisburg’s Boo Moerschell (69-76—145) and Brock’s Jayton Vaughan (75-72—147).

Jim Ned’s Wyatt Nickson (95-81—176) was the only other Big Country golfer in the tournament.

Callisburg, which shot a 298 on Monday, won the team title with 613. The first day score and team total are both 3A state records. Brock was second (311-310—621), and Bowie was third (325-318—643).

Brownwood finishes sixth

At Kingsland, Brownwood shot 310 on the final day of the Class 4A boys state golf tournament to finish sixth with a 621 at Legends Golf Course.

Canyon Randall won the team title (300-303—603), while Andrews was second (308-299—607). Sulphur Springs was third (303-312—615).

Wimberley’s Jaxon Donaldson shot 6-under-par 66 to win the individual title with a 136. Godley’s Colin Price was second (73-67—140), while Boerne’s Price Hill (70-71—141) and Andrew’s Jack Burgen (74-67—141) tied for third.

Brownwood’s Hudson Reagan (75-76-151) finished tied for 11th – one shot out of 10th. Brownwood’s Sir Jones (79-73—152) tied for 14th, while Caleb Modawell (75-80—155), Cobe Walker (82-81—163) and Slayde Espinoza (82-83—165) rounded out the Lions’ scores.