Tague Conrad of the Larned High School boys’ golf team qualified for the Class 3A state meet on Monday at Salina Municipal Golf Course.
Conrad is slated to tee off at 9:20 a.m. starting on the front nine. The first flights will tee off at 8:30.
At the regional meet in Hoisington, Conrad finished with a score of 78, which tied him for fifth place.
Conrad competed in a four-hole playoff and finished in sixth place.
“He started off at No. 1,” Larned head coach Mike Seaman said. “He didn’t play very good in the first eight holes. He just had a bad tee shot on one. He bogeyed it, but he birdied his next hole.”
Seaman said that Conrad was eight over par after the first eight holes.
“He took a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club on a lateral hazard,” Seaman said. “That was where he could have hung his hat and sunk lower, but he didn’t.
“As a coach, that was the thing I was most proud of because he didn’t give up and fought back.”
Conrad, a sophomore that has been playing the game for several years on the junior golf circuit, will be returning to the state meet for the second time.
As a freshman, Conrad tied for 18th place in the state meet with a score of 87.
Seaman said that Conrad has solid tools as a golfer.
“He has one of the best set of hands that I’ve seen on a kid,” Seaman said. “His short game is spot on. I think that was what he struggled with early on at the regional. You know, one chip is off or you miss one put. When the best part of your game struggles, it can hurt, but he was able to fight back.”
Seaman said that Conrad has seen Salina Municipal Golf Course, but it has been awhile.
“He said that he’d played on the course years ago when he was younger in junior golf,” Seaman said. “He’s seen it, but doesn’t really remember it. That was years ago, you know, with difference tee boxes and everything.”