"Let me tell you a little story. I once knew a guy who could have been a great golfer, could have gone pro; all he needed was a little time and practice. Decided to go to college instead. Went for four years, did pretty well. At the end of his four years, his last semester he was kicked out... You know what for? He was night putting, just putting at night with the 15-year-old daughter of the Dean..."
Those famous words were spoken by Chevy Chase in the movie Caddyshack.
Well, there was some night putting last week at the Division I-A State Boys Golf Championships in Pahrump and it didn't end very well for the two-time defending state champion.
To begin with, the NIAA played its state tournament at Mountain Falls Golf, with all three divisions on the same course - about 144 players. The Division I and I-A schools were able to complete their rounds on day one, but a handful of Division III golfers had to come back the next day and finish their final few holes.
Players in Division III had no worries in completing their round on the second day, starting at 9:45 a.m. But, when you have 144 golfers on the course and two divisions still to play you are asking for disaster. The Division I players think they are on the PGA Tour and take forever to play. Now, some of those kids are excellent golfers, but nowhere near professional. They teed off after the Division III and were done before dusk.
That is where we come to the black sheep of the state, the Division I-A players. After getting the earliest tee times on day one, they were stuck with the late times on day two.
Lowry High School was looking to win its third consecutive state championship and fourth in five years. The Buckaroos have twice as many titles in Nevada history with 12. Lowry looked poised to win a 13th title, leading Faith Lutheran by 13 strokes after the first 18 holes of the tournament.
However, day two didn't go as planned for the Buckaroos. Faith Lutheran played better and Lowry shot its worst score of the year.
When you have the final groups of the day teeing off near 3 p.m., there is going to be trouble. Remember, these kids are not by themselves and every hole is full from the previous divisions playing on the course. You will be lucky to play 18 holes in five hours. If I do my math correct, the sunlight goes away a bit after 8 p.m.
With the groups paired as they were, everyone knew where Lowry and Faith Lutheran stood in the standings. Elko and Spring Creek had the early tee times among the Division I-A and their coaches said it was hard to see as their final players hit the final holes and noted that the finish was unjust to those schools involved.
As the day turned into night, players from Lowry, Boulder City and Faith Lutheran were left on the course in the dark. Talking to Lowry coaches, they should have stopped play at about hole 15.
But after closing the course down for two days (probably making a lot of locals unhappy), the officials running the tournament made the players play as quickly as possible to get off the course. It got so dark that officials and others were shining lights and cell phones on players as they putted.
Well, the controversy didn't end after that, as tournament officials and coaches met and tried to come up with a decision on what to do. I am sure that chat was nice and calm. It was determined that the final hole would be thrown out, even for those who finished. Tell that to Ethan Gray, who birdied the final hole and would have finished second. That didn't count and he dropped to third.
As soon as I saw all three divisions scheduled on the same course I knew it was trouble. Talking with Donnie Nelson of the NIAA at the state baseball championships in Reno last weekend, he knows they will get calls and letters from coaches. He said the NIAA wanted to hold all three divisions on one course, but that experiment may be quickly over. He added that starting at 10 a.m. gave the players very little chance to finish in daylight. He also noted if the tee times where bumped a couple of hours earlier, it would have solved the problem of finishing in the dark.
My suggestion was to come back the next morning and finish the tournament. Lowry was spending the night anyways and I am sure it wouldn't hurt Faith Lutheran or Boulder City to stay the night as well. Start play at 8 a.m. and you are off the course in 90 minutes or less.
Now, it may sound like sour grapes because I cover Lowry. It's not. You play for two months and you have a state championship decided on darkness because of poor planning by adults.
It's comparable to stopping a softball or baseball game in the fourth inning and saying, "here is the winner."
Lowry didn't play its best round when they needed to, but when you are hurried and forced to play quickly, that concentration goes away. You go out and try to hit that little white ball. What do you tell those six guys that were going for a third consecutive championship? I still think it's pretty impressive that a bunch of guys from the North on a nine-hole municipal course in the sticks have done what they have in the last six years (three titles and three runner-up finishes).
I just want to know what the NIAA has to say to those four Lowry seniors that played their last tournament in those conditions, which turned a golf tournament into a three-ring circus.
Contact Tony Erquiaga at t.erquiaga@winnemuccapublishing.net.[[In-content Ad]]
