Members of the Waynesville Tiger golf team participated in the Class 4, District 5 tournament today at the Lake Valley Country Club in Camdenton, MO. The weather finally cooperated on the most important day of season with low 80 temperatures and mild to gusty wind conditions. The course was playing fast, but it was very fair tee to green. The Glendale Falcons won the tournament with a very nice team total of 311. Individual medalist honors went to a trio of players at 5 over par 77. See attached results.   The Tigers only entered two players this year. Freshman Ben Whitten carded a 103 and Sophomore Aaron Choi shot an even 100. The top 15 individuals and ties got to move on to sectional play next Monday. The cut score for sectionals was at a 94. Both players played well enough at times to get to that mark, but neither could avoid making some big numbers on a few holes. They played like champions, but each has learned a great deal about course management and being able to hit a variety of shots that will enable them to lower their scores. If they commit themselves during the offseason, I would expect both of them will be better prepared to challenge at next year's tournament.   I want to thank all of our supporters, parents, administration, and the fine staff at the Piney Valley Golf Course for another outstanding year of support to building future golfers and fine young men who will one day be out community leaders. Without everyone's support, none of what the players accomplish would be possible. 

Here are the results from Friday. Rolla won 157 to our 202. Our best team score of the year came on the last match of the season. We steadily improved over the season and I can see promise in our teams in the near future if the kids continue to work on their game outside of the season.  We joined Rolla in celebrating Senior night. I didn't have any seniors this year, but I was able to present Rolla Senior Matt Drallmeier a sportsmanship award given to the athlete who has demonstrated tremendous sportsmanship in his sport over the season. Matt is a terrific your man and has been a great competitor and friend of the Waynesville golf team all 4 years of his high school career. It is great to recognize fine young men for not only their talent, but their human spirit. Matt is an awesome leader of his team and we wish him the best of luck the rest of the season and all his future endeavors.

The Waynesville Tiger Golf Team participated in the Ozark Conference Golf Tournament at the RiverCut Golf Course in Springfield. The weather was fair, at least better than we have had most of the season. The course was a little wet from the Sunday rains, but overall it was fair from tee to green.  The Lebanon Yellowjackets won the team competition with a score of 319. Lebanon's Tryn Tytus and Cooper Hess dueled in a sudden-death playoff for conference individual medalist. The playoff ended after the first hole with Titus winning.   The Tigers were led by Freshman Ben Whitten with a score of 99. Other Tiger scores were Aaron Choi 107, Ben Pollman 122, Max Reyes 120, and Cody Caple 125. The Tigers finished 9th with a team total of 448. This was the last 18 hole tournament before the Class 5 district tournament on Monday, April 30. The Tigers will send only 2 to the tournament this year with hopes of qualifying them for the sectional tournament on May 7th.   The Tigers will finish their regular season Friday night at Rolla in a duel with the Bulldogs. Tee time will be 4:00 pm at the Oak Meadow Country Club.

The Waynesville Tiger Golf Team played in a quadrangular golf match this evening at Osage National versus Osage, Lebanon, and Rolla. We finally got a break with the extreme temperatures and high winds as the night was breezy and just a bit chilly. The course was in excellent shape and it turned out to be a very close contest as Osage nipped Lebanon with team scores of 155 to 156. Rolla finished 3rd at 163 and the Tigers came in at their 9 hole season average of 211. The individual medalist was Osage's Ethan Kline with an even par 36.   The Tigers were once again led by Freshman Ben Whitten with a 45. Ben has now played all the main courses he will see over his high school career and has steadily improved his play and gradually improved his scoring. He has a little work to do on playing smarter off the tee and being more accurate with his approach shots, but he is primed to turn in a great effort at both the upcoming conference and district tournaments.   The Tigers will next play at the Ozark Conference Tournament at The RiverCut Golf Course in Springfield on Monday, April 23rd.

The Waynesville Tiger golf team traveled to Camdenton to take on the Lakers and the Iberia Rangers at Lake Valley Country Club. The cold, windy weather followed us again today as early sunny skies ended in a 16 degree temperature change and low 40 temperatures during our match. The course known in the Lake area as having the fastest greens, proved to be just that tonight as scoring was difficult around the greens. After some highly competitive match's, the Lakers came out on top with a team score of 188, Iberia 200, and the Tigers in at 212. Camdenton's Spencer Mehville was the meet medalist with a 7 over par 43.    The Tigers were really inconsistent tonight from tee to green. We had some struggles keeping the ball in the proper fairway and chipping and putting around the fastest greens they have seen all season. Lake Valley is not a difficult or long course from tee to green, but accuracy and short game are musts in order to shoot a low score. I am sure the winds and temperatures affected play a bit, but at this point in the season they have learned to overcome the weather. It was just one of those nights when all the players, except one, had their struggles.   That one player was Freshman Ben Whitten who shot a team low 44. This was a great score for Ben as it was his season low and gives him a lot of confidence on a course he will see in 2 weeks at the Class 4, District 5 tournament. I had him make 1 minor swing adjustment and told him to take the break out of the medium and short puts by hitting them more firm. It paid off as he putted the best he has all season. As for the team, we continue to hover around the 212 mark all season on 9 hole matches. I am hoping after seeing this course, the players who will be competing at the district tournament will understand what skill sets they need to work on over the next 2 weeks in order to prepare.   The Tigers will be in action again tomorrow night at Osage as we play a quadrangular match with Osage, Lebanon, and Rolla at the Links Course at Osage National Golf Course.

The Waynesville Tiger Golf Team hosted their Waynesville Invitational Tournament today at the Piney Valley Golf Course on Ft. Leonard Wood. The temperature never did cooperate with the Sun as it reached 50 on the thermometer, but the wind chill barely made it out of the 30's.   The course was in great condition for the crazy weather we have been having and we owe a great thank you to the Piney Valley staff for preparing the course for play. The overall MWR staff at Ft. Leonard Wood has been tremendous to work with as we partner to develop our next generation of golfers. The Waynesville Golf Program would like to especially thank the club pro, Joe Manucci and his staff for their continued support.   We had 10 schools represented with a total of 8 teams able to complete the four scoring areas to compete at the team level. The tournament used scores from two medal stroke players, one best ball team, and one 2-man scramble team. Out of the cold and sunny sky (sorry, I just watched an old episode of the Lone Ranger) came the Lebanon Yellowjackets to take home the first place plaque with a score of 307. Lebanon's Tryn Titus was the medal play winner with a great score of 2 over par 74. Lebanon's best ball team of Hayden Brogdon and Houston Bracket won the best ball event with a 79. Rolla's "A" team consisting of Cameron Copeland and Logan Choi won the 2-man scramble event with a 75.   The Tigers faired well as they finished at 395, good for a 5th place finish. The Tigers were led by Sophomore Aaron Choi in medal play with a 96. The team of Ahmed Amjed and AJ Cabanes carded a 113 in the best ball event, and the team of Ben Pollman and Max Reyes came in with an 89 in the 2-man scramble event.   The Tigers still have a busy, windy week as they will play at Camdenton and Osage on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

The Waynesville Tiger golf team participated in the 28 team Laker Invitational at The Club at Old Kinderhook in Camdenton. We finally got a taste of Spring weather with a bit of wind and it felt great! The course was in excellent condition and there were some great scores today by many teams and individual players. The tournament was won by Columbia Rockbridge with a team total of 294. The Bruin's Hudson Dubinski was the individual medalist with a pro-like score of 6 under par, 65.   The Tigers continue to score better as a team as we improved another 15 strokes from Monday's score with a team total of 427. This is the type of progress that is needed for us to begin to compete. The team has improved 48 strokes in tournaments over the last week. Fueling the lower scores, was the play of Sophomore Aaron Choi, who led the Tigers with a career best 92. He was followed by Ben Whitten 98, Ben Pollman 116, Max Reyes 121 and AJ Cabanes 131.    The Tigers will next host the Waynesville Invitational at the Piney Valley Golf Course on Monday, April 16th with a 9:30 am tee time. Our tournament is unique as we play a 6-player format with 2 stroke play scores, 1-4 ball (also known simply as best ball) score, and 1- 2 man scramble score. We have some good teams and some very good players in this year's tournament. We invite everyone to come out and see the Tigers play. There is no cost for admission to this tournament.

The Waynesville Tiger golf team participated in the Bolivar Invitational golf tournament at the Siloh Ridge Country Club. Finally the  weather was fair and the sun shined at the same time on a very good golf course. The course was in good shape, the players are starting to hit mid-season form, and temperatures are rising. That formula is making for some very entertaining play. The tournament was won by the Lebanon Yellowjackets and the tournament medalist was Lebanon's Cooper Hess with a very good 1 over par, 73.   The Tigers were led by Freshman Ben Whitten who rebounded after a rough outing at Union earlier in the season with a 98. Other scores were Aaron Choi 110, Max Reyes 115, AJ Cabanes 119, and Cody Caple 131. The team continues to get better as we dropped 33 strokes from last week's MSU Relays score of 475 down to a 442 today. That is also 13 strokes better than last year's invitational score of 455.    Junior Max Reyes was a big contributor to the decrease in our team score. He struggled with a 139 last year at this tournament and was able to lower his score 24 strokes this year. He chipped and putted much better today as he has been working very hard to improve his short game. He realizes there are still many things he still needs to work on, but he has continued to improve throughout the season. Freshman Ben Whitten's play was much improved as he has set his goals to managing the course, hitting shots he is capable of hitting and playing the course instead of his competitors.   The Tigers will next play at the Laker Invitational on Wednesday, April 11 at The Club at Old Kinderhook in Camdenton.

The Waynesville Tiger golf team played in the MSU Relays golf tournament today at the Bill and Payne Stewart Golf Course in Springfield. The day was chilly, if not down right cold at times. But, at least we finally had some dry weather to play in. The course was in good shape and the players were all glad to get playing again as most schools were limited in their practice days over the last 2 weeks due to the cold and wet conditions.   In the Class 4 division, KC Rockhurst came out on top of a close match with Lebanon 308 to 311. Rockhurst's Liam Coughlin was the individual medalist and the overall medalist with a 1 over par 71. The Tigers shot a team score of 475, 9 strokes better than last years score.   The Tigers were led by Aaron Choi with a 104, he brought his score down 6 strokes from his last year's tournament score. Other scores were Ahmed Amjed 124, Ben Bibb 124, Cody Caple 123, and Archer Hedgepath 124. Once again this year I took a nucleus of younger players to this tournament to see who I may have that is tournament savvy. All of the sophomores improved from last season's tournament score or from play from this year. These are positive signs that they are inching closer to making more consistent swings from tee to green. I saw much improvement in their short games today, which is a big reason for the lower scores. I am asking each player to use a routine around the greens to aid in lowering their scores. In most cases the attempt was there, but it will take more time and practice to make it natural.   I am encouraged by the great efforts and attitudes with all of my players this season, but especially in Sophomore Cody Caple. His day started off rough, but as I walked and worked with him he kept improving as he gained confidence. This is what is needed out of all my players as we build a solid team over the next few years. Thanks Cody for your grit and determination to improving your game.   The Tigers will be in Bolivar Monday, April 9th for the Bolivar Invitational followed by the Laker Invitational on the 11th at Old Kinderhook in Camdenton.  

The Waynesville Tiger golf team played in the Union Invitational today at the Birch Creek Golf Course in St. Clair. The morning started with cool, but dry conditions. After 5 holes the thunder and lightning began and the tournament was suspended for 1 and 1/2 hours while the system passed through. Play resumed and the conditions, though wet, were not too bad. St. Francis Borgia came out on top with a team score of 315 and the individual medalist was Blake Hammond of Hillsboro with a 1 over par 73.   The Tigers finished in 9th place with a 448, 36 strokes better than last years tournament score. We are becoming more consistent in the fairways, but our tee ball and short games are still developing. When these areas improve, the boys will start to see major changes to their scoring. We will continue to work on these areas in practice and our upcoming matches. We seem to be improving in small increments and that is a good sign that practice and experience are paying off.   The Tigers were led by Sophomore Aaron Choi with a 102 followed by Ben Pollman 111, Ben Whitten 112, Max Reyes 123, and AJ Cabanes 131. Junior Ben Pollman is steadily improving in all areas of his game. He may be the worst scorer I have in practice, but he uses the practice to get better in his matches. Once he figures out a part of his game, he has done a nice job of executing that in a match. He understands the repetitive nature of golf and progressing the way I hope all my players will.    The Tiger's next match will by April 5th at the MSU Relays in Springfield.

The Waynesville Tiger golf team hosted a triangular match between Jefferson City, Rolla and Waynesville. The weather was ideal today with low winds and warmer temperatures. The teams competed at the Piney Valley Golf Course on Fort Leonard Wood. Rolla won the team match with a score of 171, Jeff City 173, and the Tigers came in with a 215 score. Rolla also won the JV match with a 196, Jeff City 218, and Waynesville 259. Brett Trowbridge was the medalist with a 2 over par 38, but the shot of the night came from Rolla's Jeriah Jordan as he hit his second shot of the night on the par 4 7th hole into the cup for an eagle 2 from 150 yards.   Waynesville was led by Freshman Ben Whitten with a 48, Ben Pollman 53, Max Reyes 56, Aaron Choi 58 and AJ Cabanes 58 rounded out the Tiger scoring. For the JV Ahmed Amjed 62, Cody Caple 65, Ben Bibb, Archer Hedgepath, and Zach Medina all had 66's.   We improved 5 strokes from last years score of 220, so we are heading in the right direction. The players are starting to hit the ball solid from tee to green, so the short game is going to be a huge key in dropping out individual and team scores. After our second match, all the players have a really good idea of what areas of their game they need to focus on to improve at their next match. I am pleased with their progress and continued great attitudes towards getting better.   The Tigers next play at the Union Invitational on Monday, March 26th.

The Waynesville Tiger Boy's golf season got underway tonight as the Tigers traveled to Lebanon for a triangular match with Lebanon and Osage. The match was a reschedule from Monday's rainout. The weather was sunny and cool and the course in fair shape for the middle of March.  The Yellowjackets came out on top in the varsity match with a 157 to Osage's 167 and the Tigers matched last season's team total of 212. In the JV match Osage scored a 203, Lebanon 219 and Waynesville 255. Cooper Hess from Lebanon was the medalist with a low score of 1 under par 35.   Our Tigers are very young this season with no seniors on the team. The Tigers are being led this year by two juniors Ben Pollman and Max Reyes. We have a highly motivated group of freshman and sophomores who make up the nucleus of the team. Two standouts that have impressed early this season are Sophomore Aaron Choi and Freshman Ben Whitten. Both have been playing for at least a year have shown signs of being able to get their games in shape to compete at our district tournament.   Choi led the Tigers tonight with a team low 46, followed by Whitten's 53, AJ Cabanes 55, Max Reyes 58, and Ben Bibb 61. Aaron practiced well on Tuesday as he worked out a few swing issues and played well tonight. He has vastly improved from a year ago as he has gotten much better with his short game. Whitten played number 1 as a freshman and did well for his first experience with Spring golf in Missouri. After tonights match I feel he has learned a lot about playing with thin lies, fairways that run out, and how to putt firm, but slow greens. This will make his practice time very valuable as he works on club selection, learning to bump and run a pitch shot, and managing the course. He wasn't personally happy with his round, but he realizes he will have growing pains with playing new courses and encountering many different varieties of fairways, rough, and greens over the next 2 months.   All in all, I am very pleased with the progress of all the players tonight and this season. Their dedication and practice focus is the best I have had in 5 seasons. They want to get better, they want to compete, and they want to build a strong team for the future.   The Tigers will next play at home tomorrow night at 4:00 pm vs Jefferson City and Rolla at Piney Valley.