4A state boys golf notes: Home-course edge for Papermakers, Titans
One visiting spectator at the Class 4A boys golf state tournament looked at the leaderboard at Camas Meadows and spotted Camas’ Brian Humphreys and his round of 70.
“A kid from Camas gets to play state on his home course?” the spectator remarked. “How does that happen?”
It happens more often than you think. Just about any course that hosts a state tournament is the home course from some high school team. There just aren’t that many courses for that not to happen.
Camas Meadows is actually the home course for both Camas and Union golf teams. Union’s Eddie Abellar also shot a first-round 70.
“This is as perfect as it gets for me,” said Union’s Ian Spicer, who shot a 76 on Tuesday. “I get to sleep in my own bed, get breakfast and come to the course.”
Added Humphreys: “Getting to play here is a big advantage. This is the kind of course that you need to play a couple of times to get a good feel for where to play the ball.”
But knowledge of the course wasn’t a guarantee for success, as Spicer found out.
“I play this course every day,” he said. “I think I played it faster than those in my group because I didn’t need to read every green. But I guess, given how many putts I left today, maybe I should have.”
RAINY DAY PROBLEMS: As Humphreys mentioned, knowledge of the course was a big edge for local golfers, especially since the course played much differently on Monday, when it was sunny and 75 degrees, than it did in on Tuesday’s soggy afternoon.
“It wasn’t much of a practice round to simulate playing conditions today,” Humphreys said.
Several golfers complained about hitting balls short through the wet grass, or not getting a lot of roll.
But none had a bigger problem than Wentachee’s Brady Kuntz.
While playing his 7-iron on the back side of the course, Kuntz lost grip of his club on his swing and it landed in the middle of a nearby water hazard.
“The rest of the round I was short-arming my 6-iron,” he said. “And holding onto to it really, really tight.”
Officials planned to retrieve Kuntz’s club from the water.
