Local prep golfers make the cut at state tournaments

OLYMPIA — Montesano’s Payson Parker put himself in solid position for a state medal after finishing his first round in 11th place at the 1A State Boys Golf Tournament at the Olympia Country and Golf Club on Tuesday.

Parker was the highest-finishing golfer from the Harbor followed by Hoquiam’s Josh Burgher, who shot an 83 to land in 15th place.

The course presented some challenges to golfers, including fast greens and a thick-cut rough that made hitting out of trouble difficult.

Parker said keeping his shots in the middle of the fairway and executing on his short game were keys to keeping a low score.

“Putting here is really important,” he said. “You have to be a good putter and stay in the short grass in the fairways so it’s easier to attack the greens. I definitely tried to stay in the fairways as much as I could.”

Hoquiam’s Braden Dayton also had a solid day on the course with an 85 despite shooting a 10 on the 18th hole.

Burgher, Parker and Dayton were the only players from Grays Harbor County to make the cut and qualify for the second day of competition.

Hoquiam’s Michael Jump and Tayte Witherbee both missed the 90-stroke cutline by a few shots as Jump posted a 91 and Witherbee ended his round with a 93.

Hoquiam head coach Larry Dublanko was hoping to send four golfers into the second day of the tournament but was overall pleased with the performance.

“We got a good day out of Josh and we got a good day out of Braden,” he said. “If you just take that (10 on No. 18) to a bogie, he would have been right there at 80,” he said. “We got a good, steady day out of Josh and Braden shot a 39 on the front half, which was the lowest nine-hole score that we got.”

1A State Boys Golf Tournament

Final Round

While Wednesday’s final round of the tournament had yet to be completed at the time of this writing, scores for local golfers had been posted.

Parker shot an 87 in his final round on Wednesday and currently sits in 11th place for the tournament with the top six golfers still on the course.

Burgher shot an 87 for his second round and is currently in 15th place.

Dayton shot a 97 on Wednesday, dropping him to 22nd place in the tournament.

1A State Girls Golf Tournament

Glory Grubb led the way for local golfers with an 82 in her first round of golf to finsh the first day of the tournament in eighth at Tumwater Golf Club on Tuesday.

Grubb made the cut and advanced to Wednesday’s second round of the girls 1A State Tournament along with teammate Mylaina Parker (87).

Hoquiam also sent two golfers into the second day of competition. Bailey Smith shot a 94 and Brooke Bogdanovich shot a 96 to eke their way into the final round on Wednesday.

At the time of this writing, scores from Wednesday’s final round had yet to be completed.

Identical to her first-round score, Smith shot a 94 and is in 36th place overall.

Bogdanovich, who carded a second-round score of 98, currently sits in 38th place with several golfers still out on the course.

2A State Girls Golf Tournament

Aberdeen’s Ryder Heikkla was consistent in her two rounds at the 2A State Girls Golf Tournament at MeadowWood Golf Course in Spokane.

Heikkla shot a 91 in Tuesday’s opening round and followed with a 92 on the second day, giving her a two-day total of 183 to finish 23rd overall.

At the time of this writing, the second round had yet to be completed and some scores were still unavailable.

For updated scores and results, visit thedailyworld.com/sports and follow us on Twitter @dw_ghsports.

Hoquiam’s Josh Burgher putts on the 11th green at Olympia Country and Golf Club during the 1A State Tournament on Thursday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

Hoquiam’s Josh Burgher putts on the 11th green at Olympia Country and Golf Club during the 1A State Tournament on Thursday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

Hoquiam’s Braden Dayton takes a shot from the fairway on the 11th hole at Olympia Country and Golf Club during the 1A State Tournament on Thursday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

Hoquiam’s Braden Dayton takes a shot from the fairway on the 11th hole at Olympia Country and Golf Club during the 1A State Tournament on Thursday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)