Cougs Finish An Impressive 4th at 5A State Golf Championships

Ada Evening News

Broken Arrow — Tuesday’s Results

CLASS 5A STATE

At Emerald Falls Golf Course in Broken Arrow

Team Standings

1. Ardmore    311-300—611

2. Carl Albert    327-315—652

3. Lawton MacArthur    328-325—653

4. Ada    345-313—658

Top Individuals

1. Taylor Williams, Chickasha    74-74—148-x

(tie) Casey Fernandez, McAlester    76-72—148

3. Talor Gooch, Carl Albert    75-74—149

4. Wyatt Robson, Ada    79-71—150

5. Ian Davis, Deer Creek-Edmond    78-73—151

(tie) Seth Morgan, Ardmore    78-73—151

7. David McMurry, Ardmore    76-76—152

(tie) Sage Ranalla, Lawton MacArthur    77-75—152

9. Trey Payne, Ardmore    78-75—153

10. Tyler Busch, Grove    76-80—156

Other Ada Cougars Individuals

Will Robson    87-77—164

Justin Powell    86-81—167

Adam Gourley    93-84—177

Blake Long    93-89—182

NOTEWORTHY: After Monday’s weather shortened the tournament to 36 holes instead of 54, the Cougars ended up shooting 32 team shots better Tuesday (313) than Monday (345) as they jumped from sixth place after the first round to fourth place at the end of the tournament with a 658. Ardmore coasted to their third straight state title as the Tigers shot a 300 to finish at 611, 41 team shots ahead of Carl Albert (652) with Lawton MacArthur slipping to third (653). Ada’s Wyatt Robson, who was one shot off the pace to finish among the top medalists, improved by eight shots (71) on Tuesday from what he shot on Monday (79) as he finished as the fourth-place medalist with a 150. Will Robson was the best East side senior golfer with his 87-77—164 to make the All-State Golf team this summer. Chickasha’s Taylor Williams tied McAlester’s Casey Fernandez at 148 for top medalist, so a playoff was needed — which Williams won on the fourth hole of sudden death.

COACHES QUOTE: "I was very proud of the way the kids came out and played on Tuesday. None of us were happy with the way we played on Monday, and I think we were all mad they that they decided to only play a 36-hole tournament. I think most of the coaches wanted to come back on Tuesday and play 27-holes, which would have been easy to do, and it would have allowed us to complete the scheduled number of holes for the tournament.  I believe we were gaining ground in the afternoon on Monday on both Carl Albert and Lawton Mac. Maybe we could have caught them had we been allowed to complete round two, but who knows. It was a good tournament, and a good season for us. Wyatt and Justin both played well as freshmen in their first state tournament. They were both pretty nervous on day one, but both fought some really difficult conditions and played well. Then, on day two both played their best golf of the year. That is very encouraging for next year. Blake Long really battled hard both rounds and also had a very good year. My two seniors, who I will miss greatly next year, both battled hard for two days. Adam Gourley really battled back on Tuesday and played well. I think he lost four shots over the last three holes, but I was proud of the effort he showed. Will Robson saved the best golf of his career for the last two weeks of his senior season. He performed pretty well on Monday in the tough conditions, but played great on Tuesday and was named to the East All-State Team for having the lowest score as a senior from the East Region. I was really proud of Will for the determination he showed over the last two weeks. Again, it was a great season and I think we gained some great experience for next year.” — Ada head boys coach Robbie Powell.

Cougar Golfers Play Well In Tournament of Champions

David Seeley Guest Sports Writer Ada Evening News

Ada — ADA — Both the Ardmore Tigers and the Edmond North Huskies wanted to win the 2010 Tournament of Champions golf tournament, which took place Monday at Oak Hills Golf and Country Club.

The Tigers, the two-time Class 5A defending state champions, had never won the event, while the Huskies were trying for a five-peat of the event (not counting last year’s rainout).

They both got their wish as they tied for the team title at 280.  Jenks was third (282), followed by the host Ada Cougars in fourth (294).

“It feels real good,” Ada coach Robbie Powell said. “It’s not so much where we finished, but it was the way we played. We got off to kind of a shaky start, and we really could have had things go south on us in a hurry. And it didn’t. They held things together pretty well, and we finished good. My goal for the whole year is try to get better every week, and our scores have come down every week. If we continue to do that, then we have a pretty good shot at being good before it’s all over with.”

Edmond North’s Austin Fuller was the top medalist, carding a 68, edging four other golfers who had 69s.

Among the top 10 medalists were a pair of Cougars, as Adam Gourley and Wyatt Robson tied for ninth with 74s. Gourley was pleased to be among the top individuals, since this was his final Tournament of Champions.

“I feel great,” Gourley said. “I came out and I played well my last time here. I hadn’t been playing well all year, and (on Monday) I played up to par — and played like I need to. I’ve been working more on my mental game. I’ve been losing it after making a couple of bad shots. But (on Monday) I held on, and didn’t shoot anything worse than a bogey. That really made the difference. It feels good to tie (Wyatt Robson). I’ve played with him for five or six years now. I know he’s going to represent Ada well for the next three years to come.”

Robson, too, was glad to be among the group of medalists.

“It feels good to do well on our home course,” Robson said.

“It was rough. The course was wet. It played pretty long. It was special to tie Adam. He had a great round in a tough tournament.”

As for the rest of the Cougars, Blake Long and Justin Powell (who won the putting championship) shot 80s, while Will Robson shot an 82.

“To do as well as we did, for being as young as we are, is great,” Powell said. “I had a senior (Gourley) shoot a 74, and I had a freshman (Wyatt Robson) shoot a 74. Our highest score was an 82, which we threw out. Early in the year, we were throwing out 96s and 98s, and having to keep 92s and 93s. So, we’ve come a long ways.”

Ada golfers place fifth at Del City

Ada Evening News

Ada — OKLAHOMA CITY — It’s always positive for any athlete or team to finish in the top half of the field of competitors and/or teams at any event. The Ada Cougars golf team did that — and in a big way.

The Cougars were fifth out of 24 teams in Thursday’s Del City Invitational at Trosper Park Golf Course.

Ada was fifth with a team score of 316, finishing behind champion Choctaw (308), Edmond Memorial (311), Lawton Eisenhower (312) and El Reno (315) — the only Class 5A team to finish ahead of the Cougars.

“I was very pleased with the way we played,” Ada boys coach Robbie Powell said. “Our score was about where I thought it would be if we had decent weather. The wind got up a little bit in the later part of the round, but we finished pretty well. I am OK with a fifth-place finish, but we all feel like we gave a tournament away.”

Ada could have scored lower by making a few more puts.

“If we could have putted the way we are capable of, we would have won this tournament going away. It is the first tournament that we have played this year on a course that has very large greens, and we struggled with having long putts and lagging them close to the hole,” he said.

“All of the kids hit the ball better, which is a very good thing. However, the thing I am most proud of is the fact that we made good decisions all day. We didn’t attempt to hit shots that were not good percentage shots. We are getting better with experience, which was my goal from the start of the year. If the ball striking continues to improve and the kids continue to make good decisions, the putting will get better.”

All five Ada golfers finished in the top 50, with the best day coming from Wyatt Robson with a 76 to tie for sixth place.

“Wyatt Robson continues to be our best performer, and he will only get better with the more golf he plays,” Powell said.

Adam Gourley tied for 16th with a 78.

“I was very happy that Adam Gourley played more to his capability,” Powell said. “I hope that he will continue to do so, and I think he will.”

Will Robson and Justin Powell each shot an 81, which tied them for 32nd.

“Will Robson also has started to play better over the past week, and that is simply because he is putting in a lot of extra work,” Powell said. “The three freshmen continue to improve as well. I was really happy with the way Justin hung in. He had a couple of opportunities to let things get away from him, and he was able get back on track and not make any big numbers. I have preached all year about making bogey your highest score, and he was able to do that, which is really good for him. Justin is at a little disadvantage because he doesn’t hit the ball as far as the other players. I know at times he may be 70 yards behind the people he is playing with after his tee shot, so for him to make nothing higher than bogey is very good.”

Blake Long rounded out the Ada golfers with a score of 85, which tied him for 48th.

“Blake continues to be a good competitor,” Powell said. “He probably had his worst day of the year with his driver, but was able to keep his score in the mid 80s, which I was very proud of. I was really great to drive home with a score sheet that had no scores in the 90s.”

The Cougars will get to play at home Monday as they will be the hosts for the Tournament of Champions at Oak Hills.

“If you put everything together, then we should have a good shot at qualifying for the state tournament (next month).”

Ada High Golf Capsule

Ada Evening News

Ada — Wednesday’s Results

Duncan Invitational

Team Results

1. Ardmore A    288

2. Altus A    312

3. Ardmore B    312

4. Duncan A    319

5. Lawton MacArthur    329

6. Ada    336

7. Westmore    338

8. Lawton High    344

9. Lawton Eisenhower    345

10. Norman North JV    351

11. Marlow    351

12. Cache    362

13. Deer Creek JV    379

14. Duncan B    389

15. Duncan C    391

16. Lawton MacArthur JV    392

17. Westmore JV    394

18. Lawton High JV    400

19. Altus B    405

20. Norman    414

21. Noble    416

22. Lawton Eisenhower JV    436

23. Elgin    DNF

Ada Individual Scores

T6. Wyatt Robson    74

Blake Long    83

Will Robson    87

Justin Powell    92

Adam Gourley    97

NOTEWORTHY: The Cougars finished sixth with a 336, finishing behind champion Ardmore’s A team (288), the Altus A team (312), Ardmore’s B team (312), host Duncan’s A team (319) and Lawton MacArthur (329). The best day was turned in by Wyatt Robson with a 74 to tie him for sixth-place medalist honors. He was followed by Blake Long (83), Will Robson (87), Justin Powell (92) and Adam Gourley (97).

COACHES QUOTE: “It was another windy day that wasn’t much fun on a tight golf course. We did shoot our lowest score of the year, but it still needs to get a lot better. I was very happy with Wyatt Robson, he finished tied for sixth individually and is really starting to find his game a little. Blake Long also played well. My hope is that over the next couple of weeks, we can have four players play well at the same time instead of just two or three. We have to do that if we hope to make it to the state tournament. I do think we will play better at our next tournament.” — Ada head coach Robbie Powell.

Up next: Ada at Del City Invitational Thursday, at Trosper Park in OKC.

Tee Time!

Ada boys golf team opens play this weekend in Ardmore event

Jeff Cali Sports Editor Ada Evening News

Ada — ADA — The Ada High golf team doesn’t want to discuss last year’s Class 5A State Tournament. But they sure hope this year’s is worth talking about.

Entering the 2009 state tournament, the Cougars felt like they could be a Top 5 team, and if the cards fell right, fight for the title. But coach Robbie Powell could only watch as his team stumbled to ninth place, finishing behind a number of teams they had beaten on a regular basis throughout the season.

“Last year was a disappointment for all of us, but that was last year and we really haven’t even talked about it,” Powell said. “We are looking to this season right now and our goal is to get better each week. If we are able to stay focused on continual improvement throughout the year, I would expect that we will qualify for the state tournament, and when we get there we will see what happens.”

The Cougars lost the likes of Alex Long, Josh Belcher and Chris Sweeney to graduation and return just two seniors to the 2010 lineup — Adam Gourley and Will Robson. But Powell likes their leadership qualities.

“We are going to be very young and not very experienced. We will be playing with only two seniors this year. They are the only players that have any significant high school playing experience,” he said. “Adam and Will are going to have to be leaders this year, and they have done a good job so far. I know they will continue to do so, I worked with both of them during football season and both of them worked hard every day. They are both really good kids and make it fun to coach.”

Like many other clubs around the state, Ada hasn’t had the opportunity to get very many practice rounds under their belts which could result in higher-than-normal scores during the early portion of the spring schedule.

“We have had very few days this spring that we have been able to practice. The course has been so wet, we have only been able to play nine holes about 10 days. Last year at this time, we had probably played about 25 to 30 days,” Powell said. “We are way behind where we were at this time last year. Coupled with the inexperience, the first part of the year will probably be pretty rough.”

Also returning to the Ada squad this year is sophomore Cole Townsend, who made a big splash with the Cougars last year, highlighted by his hole-in-one at the Del City Invitational.

“Cole Townsend has the ability to help a lot as a sophomore, but due to being on the state-qualifying mock trial team, he is way behind the others at this point. He just needs to get some rounds in to catch up,” Powell said.

Juniors Alex Lane and Cody Anderson are the only other upperclassmen on the team. But Powell hopes a few of his talented freshman — including Wyatt Robson, Blake Long and Justin Powell — can make the same kind of impact Townsend did a year ago.

“I expect those young guys to contribute a great deal this year. Wyatt has played very well this spring and looks to be the No. 1 man going into the season,” Powell said.

Ada kicks off its 2010 spring schedule at the Ardmore Invitational, played on the Dornick Hills Golf Course on Friday before finishing up on the Lakeview Golf Course on Saturday. The Cougars will get the chance to see how they stack up against the very best right off the bat. The host Tigers are the defending Class 5A state champs and didn’t lose any of their top five to graduation.

“Ardmore is the leader of the pack again. They return all five players off of last year’s championship team, so it is theirs to lose. Having said that, Edmond Deer Creek, Bixby, Carl Albert and Lawton MacArthur will all be better this year,” Powell said.

Powell said he’d like the think his team can be among that bunch by mid-May.

“I think by the end of the year will be pretty competitive,” he said.

Local golf fans will once again get the chance to see the Ada golfers perform at the annual Tournament of Champions. The 2010 event is scheduled for Monday, April 19 at the Oak Hills Golf and Country Club.

“Moving that tournament to Monday will be better for Oak Hills and actually fell into a good place for us with our schedule,” he said. “Monday is a day that many clubs are closed for half a day, so many of the members don’t play on Mondays. With us playing on Monday instead of Friday, the members are not inconvenienced.”