Tanner Neeland and Jeff Keenan of Great Bend High School are headed to Lawrence today to have a practice round of 18 holes at Alvamar Country Club.
The duo qualified for the Class 5A state extravaganza last Monday during a regional at Salina Municipal Golf Course. After top-10 finishes, they will be playing Alvamar on Monday in state play.
Neeland and Keenan both shot 78s at Salina to place sixth and eighth, respectively, after tiebreakers were necessitated.
The most consistent golfers for the Panthers all season, the pair peaked at the right time to advance.
“We practiced Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and they practiced on their own on Friday and Saturday,” Great Bend head coach Troy Stein said. “We’re having a practice round (today) at Alvamar.
“I told them, ‘You don’t have to go and feel any pressure or feel like you have to prove that you belong because you both placed at the regional tournament.’ The kind of the way that I look at it is the state tournament is a reward about how you played all season, so whatever happens, happens.”
Both golfers have made big strides since last season.
“We went back and looked back at the results from last year compared to the results from this year and they played better in every tournament, compared to last year,” Stein said. “They both have been very consistent.”