STATON STARTS HOT, FIRES 70 AT FIANNA HILLS

Like a baseball player throwing a no-hitter, or a quarterback who hasn’t thrown an incomplete pass, Sydney Staton did her best Tuesday not to peek at the leaderboard. She was able to avoid knowing where she stood for awhile. Then, temptation got the best of her. “You want to play safe, to try to keep that score,” Staton said following Tuesday’s first round 70 at the Arkansas State Golf Association Fianna Hills Junior Championship. “(But) after you know what that score is, it’s so hard not to blow up or anything,” she said. “It’s really, really hard (not to look).” The Southside golfer will carry a 15-stroke lead heading into today’s second round in the girls 16-18 division. Staton was hot early. She was five under after seven holes and still five under after eight holes. But as the afternoon heat wore on, play slowed down considerably. It took two hours and 20 minutes to play the first eight holes, and it took nearly three hours to play the last 10. All that time gave Staton time to think about her score card. “When I was on (No.) 10 I was like, ‘I’m five under; I can do this.’ Then I had a bogey,” she said. “I was like, ‘Dang, now I’m four under.’ “You just have to play.” Playing on her home course can also be a plus — and a distraction. Tuesday, Staton had her best round ever at Fianna Hills, breaking the 72 she shot a year ago. “I play this course every single day,” Staton said. “I feel like just knowing where to go, and how the green slopes is a real big advantage.” Alexis Montgomery shot an 85 in Tuesday’s first round. Brinkley Beever shot 106. Ironically, Staton has been struggling prior to Tuesday’s round. “This round was probably my best of the year so far,” she said. “The greens were really, really good. We played up in the fairways and that helps a lot. With the rain that we’ve had it was really nice.” Staton has two more Arkansas summer tournaments before a bit of a cool-off period prior to starting the high school season in late July. “Next week I go to El Dorado for Tri-States and the day after that I go to Texarkana for an Arkansas state tournament,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll get a break and start back up in July.” Logan Greer of Harrison and Thomas Proctor of Little Rock fired the day’s best round in the boys’ 16-18 division with matching 72. Greenwood golfer Evan Griffith and Tripp McConnell both shot 74. Fayetteville’s Fletcher McSpadden shot a 75, and six other golfers — Nathan Munday (Greenwood), Payton Wahman (Van Buren), Jackson Marseilles, Blaine Calhoon, Dongjoon Lee and Nathan Martin — are just four back following a first round 76.

STATON STARTS HOT, FIRES 70 AT FIANNA HILLS

KEVIN TAYLOR

Times Record | 6/7/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian D. Sanderford