Jun. 7—CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Carl Junction High School boys golf team on Friday showed it hasn’t lost a step after a school-best third-place finish at state. It got the band back together to shoot its best combined score ever — a 289 on the home course — on the first day of the Briarbrook Invitational.
Four of the Bulldogs — Jack Spencer, Tommy Walker, Logan Lowry and Austin Baker — are competing in the three-day 54th annual Briarbrook Invitational.
Spencer, who is heading into his senior year at Carl Junction High School, finished tied for sixth place at the state tournament. After the first round of play Friday at Briarbrook, he shot a 6-under 66 to put him squarely in the mix for the title.
Lowry, who will be a junior next year, finished 1-under with an opening round 71 on Friday.
“It’s definitely different,” Lowry said of competing at the state tournament as opposed to playing as an individual at the invite. “It’s a pretty big event (state golf), so there are a lot of nerves involved.”
Lowry, who is competing in his second Briarbrook Invitational, said he stays active on area courses throughout the summer.
He just finished a two-day tournament Thursday and after three days at Briarbrook will play in a four-day tournament in Kansas City beginning Monday.
He also talked about this year’s Class 4 third-place team.
“We knew going in we were going to be pretty solid,” Lowry said. “We ended up winning districts, and when state came along, we felt pretty good about it.”
CJ could also be a force next year as it loses just one senior — Walker — to graduation.
Lowry said he thinks soon-to-be sophomore Brock Spencer should help the Bulldogs next year.
“He’s played in a couple of tournaments and finished pretty solid, so I think he’ll be ready for next year.” Lowry said.
Walker, who finished 2-over with a 74 on Friday at the invitational, is joining the MIAA champion Missouri Southern State University golf team in the fall.
He shared his thoughts on the Bulldogs’ season.
“Going in, we knew we were pretty good, but there was some tough competition there,” Walker said. “We knew Rolla was good, but we beat them in districts here by a few shots, so we knew we had a good chance.”
Walker reflected on what the team accomplished by placing the highest at state the program has ever finished.
“If you told me my freshman year we would accomplish that, I would have never believed you,” Walker said. “It was pretty cool to go out like that. I’m just glad to have been a part of it.”
He also talked about the difference in competing at state compared to playing at the Briarbrook Invitational.
“High school tournament golf is way different, but I do think the mindset for all of us is still the same. It’s still competitive and we are going to go out and try to beat everyone here.”
Walker, who is playing in his third invite at Briarbrook, said playing against the area golfers at the invite is a good challenge.
“Every year, this field is really tough,” Walker said. “You get to play against the best golfers in the area and see how you do.”
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