EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. — The score didn’t match expectations, but mission still accomplished.
Payton Boekhout put up a triple bogey on his final hole Monday, May 8 and then endured a lengthy wait for the rest of the Class 3 Sectional 4 scores. In the end, the Platte County senior’s 15-over round of 87 on a tough layout at Excelsior Springs Golf Club put him safely above the cut line and earned him his first trip to the Class 3 Missouri State Golf Championships next week.
ROSS MARTIN/Citizen photo
Platte County freshman Logan Hessemyer chips to a green during his round in the Class 3 Sectional 4 tournament.
Prior to this season, Boekhout had never advanced past districts, so the score didn’t matter as much as the end result.
“It would’ve been nice to shoot better and have the security so I didn’t have to wait here and feel that pressure,” Boekhout said. “But it feels good to make it to state in general.”
Boekhout tied for 13th while Platte County freshman Logan Hessemyer’s 9-over 81 tied him for sixth, giving the Pirates a pair of state qualifiers.
Platte County advanced as an automatic qualifying team to sectional play for the first time in program history, posting only the second top-two district finish ever a week earlier. The Pirates were unable to return to early season form and shot a team 354, finishing fourth and 16 shots back of an automatic state berth.
Earlier in the season, Platte County put up team scores in the 320s, including a season-best 322 to win the Suburban Conference Blue Division title.
Austin Acord, one of three seniors in the five-man lineup, nearly gave Platte County a third qualifier, but he finished at 18-over and one shot off the cut line. Bradley Poos, a sophomore, and Tanner Burkin, the third senior, shot matching 96s to round out the team score.
“It was a great season,” said Boekhout, who won the Blue Division individual championship and was third at districts last week. “It was everything I could ask for.”
Hessemyer entered off of his Class 3 District 8 title but after starting with back-to-back bogeys, he was 5-over through six holes. He finished his front side with three straight pars but dropped to 7-over after a double bogey on No. 10.
The round ended with a birdie on the par-5 18th to put Hessemyer near the top of the leaderboard, just six shots off of first.
“I was feeling good,” Hessemyer said. “It was very important to end on a high note.”
Boekhout appeared on his way to a top-10 finish until closing with a bogey and then a triple bogey on the 18th to drop four strokes late. Part of the first group off the course, he showed a little apprehension about earning his state spot, and Platte County’s hopes for the second team state berth in program history slowly evaporated.
One of the best seasons in Platte County history continues with Boekhout and Hessemyer at state Monday and Tuesday, May 15 and 16 at Sedalia Country Club in Sedalia, Mo.