STATON WINS OVERALL GIRLS’ TITLE

Going into today’s final round of the Arkansas State Golf Association Fianna Hills Junior Championship, Evan Griffith felt optimistic. The Greenwood golfer initially thought he didn’t shoot all that well in Tuesday’s opening round at Fianna Hills Country Club, but discovered that he was tied for third in the boys’ 16-18 age division. However, Wednesday’s second and final round wasn’t what Griffith had hoped to achieve. Griffith, who shot a 74 on Tuesday, ended up going 11 over-par on Wednesday with an 83 as he finished in a tie for ninth place. “I just kind of fell apart; the swing wasn’t where it was at. ... It was just one of those things, can’t help it,” Griffith said. “I just couldn’t get off the box and I couldn’t make my putts. So put those together, it’s not great. “During the (first) round, I didn’t think two-over would have done anything. ... So when I came in and saw that I was tied for third, I thought that was pretty cool. I felt like I really needed to go low (Wednesday), which didn’t happen but that’s golf.” But Griffith said he was glad for the experience to play in his first ASGA Fianna Hills Junior Championship. “I knew I wanted to play in it, I’ve always wanted to,” he said. “Usually when they have this tournament, it’s with a tournament on the other side of Arkansas and I really liked playing that course so I normally go over there, so this is actually the first time I’ve played in this tournament. “We had some pretty good players come in, but like I said, I wish I could have played a little bit better for it kind of being like a home advantage, but golf is golf, so you never know what will happen.” Griffith, who will be a junior at Greenwood for the fall golf season, plans to go to Texarkana in a few days, where he will play a couple of tournaments there next week. “I feel like with playing in all the tournaments right now, it’s kind of like my practice for coming up for the high school year,” Griffith said. “I’m not doing too much, but I have a feeling once I get back from doing all kinds of summer tournaments, and starting with the team again, I’ll help them out, too.” The overall champion was Blaine Calhoun of Ward, who finished with a 148 (76-72). Nathan Munday, who is Griffith’s teammate at Greenwood, finished in a three-way tie for sixth after shooting a 155 (76-79). On the girls’ side, Southside golfer Sydney Staton easily cruised to the overall championship in the 16-18 age division, winning by nine strokes after totaling a 148. After shooting a 70 in the first round, Staton shot a 78 on Wednesday. But despite winning the championship, Staton wasn’t completely satisfied with her performance. “I could have done a lot better,” she said. “It was hot and it’s hard to do the same thing as (Tuesday), so I tried to keep my cool, but I would get frustrated a lot. I shot a 78, but I just wasn’t feeling it.” But Staton still liked what she was able to accomplish in both days to win the event. “I think just knowing the course helped me a lot and then after that, I was just getting mentally prepared. ... I practiced a lot, too, on (Tuesday) night so that helped me a lot,” she said. “It was a great tournament overall, lot of good players. I always look forward to this tournament, so it was a nice two days.” In the boys’ 12-13 age division, Phisher Phillips of Rogers finished first with a 150 (77-73). Dalton Smith of Fort Smith finished fifth with a 172, shooting an 86 for both rounds. Cabot’s Logan Stephens won first place in the boys’ 14-15 age division with a 152 (72-80), while in the girls’ 14-15 age division, Kinslee Miller of Rogers won after shooting a 173 (91-82).

STATON WINS OVERALL GIRLS’ TITLE

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 6/8/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Southside High School Athletics