OVERLAND PARK — Nine holes into the weather-delayed Class 5A state golf championship, Chance Haney was playing solid at plush par-71 Brookridge Golf & Fitness.
Haney, a Great Bend High School junior, was sitting at 4-over after starting on the back nine on Monday. A thunderstorm watch pushed his scheduled 9:40 a.m. tee time back 40 minutes.
The Panthers’ lone state competitor, Haney capped his early success by sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to sit at 40.
“I felt I was playing pretty good,” said Haney, making his first state appearance. “After the first nine holes, I realized that I could shoot pretty well, and that’s what messed me up.
“I was thinking about it too much. My mental game wasn’t that great on the front, I guess.”
Haney finished with an 85 and in a five-way tie for 53rd place in the 93-player field. He couldn’t replicate some of his early consistency on the final nine holes, bogeying his first seven before he had a double-bogey on No. 8 and finished with another bogey on No. 9.
“I went to the front nine and couldn’t make a par,” Haney said. “I never ended up making a par ... I dunno.”
Haney played the front nine during a practice round on Sunday.
“I shot a 39 on it, and I just couldn’t do that today,” he said. “I’m just really disappointed because I wanted to shoot in the 70s because I knew I could, but it didn’t happen and that’s why I’m so hard on myself right now.”
Great Bend head coach Troy Stein said he liked the way Haney competed as he was enduring some struggles.
“He didn’t hit the ball as well on the front nine,” Stein said. “I thought he did a pretty good job of holding it together and scrambling to get some bogeys when it could have turned into big numbers and they didn’t.
“I think he got a little frustrated, that’s the main thing. He wanted to make some pars and he wanted to find a birdie out there, and it didn’t happen. Overall, an 85 is not really a bad score.”
Stevens, Kapaun win 5A state title
Sam Stevens of Wichita Kapaun-Mt. Carmel fired a 4-under 67 to edge Andover Central’s Jeff Sherman by two strokes and win the Class 5A state golf championship on Monday at Brookridge Golf & Fitness.
Kapaun had a score of 303 to edge Lenexa’s St. James Academy by six strokes for the team crown.
HIGH SCHOOL GOLF
Class 5A State Championship
At Overland Park
Brookridge Golf & Fitness
Monday
Team scores
1. Kapaun-Mt. Carmel (Wichita), 303; 2. St. James Academy (Lenexa), 309; 3. Maize South, 315 4. Blue Valley Southwest (Overland Park), 319; 5. (tie) St. Thomas Aquinas (Overland Park); Seaman (Topeka), 323; 7. Andover, 326; 8. (tie) Mill Valley, 331; Hays, 331; 10. Goddard Eisenhower, 342; 11. (tie) Shawnee Heights, 349; Salina Central 349.
Individuals
1. Sam Stevens, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 67; 2. Jeff Sherman, Andover Central, 69; 3. (tie) Jared Burns, 74; Jack Reilly, Lenexa-St. James Academy, 74; Alex Schremmer, Maize South, 74; 6. (tie) Ben Maskus, St. James Academy, 76; Dax Shaw, Arkansas City, 76; 8. (tie) Jack Cashburn, Shawnee-Mill Valley, 77; Cole Steizer, St. James Academy, 77; Kaden Beilman, Hays, 77; 11. (tie) Ben Hargrave, Salina South, 78; Austin Kruse, St. Thomas Aquinas, 78; Mason Wages, Topeka-Seaman, 78; 14. (tie) Ruger Hummel, Seaman, 79; Chad Phillips, Andover, 79; Luke Russell, Lansing, 79; 18. (tie) Alex Ghekas, Blue Valley Southwest, 80; Cole Christian, Maize South, 80; Seth Haupt, Blue Valley Southwest, 80; Matthew Gilbaugh, Kapaun, 80; Hayden Padgett, Maize South, 80; Jake Lassman, Blue Valley Southwest, 80.
