Platte County senior Matt Madill posted his lowest round of the year in tournament play, continuing a strong start to his season. He claimed fourth place out of 88 golfers in the Liberty Invitational on Monday, April 18 in rainy conditions at Shoal Creek Golf Course in Kansas City, Mo.
Madill shot a 4-over 76, just 4 shots back of winner Charlie Hamilton of Pembroke Hill. The Pirates were 11th out of 18 teams in the final standings with no other golfer in the top 30.
“The team knew going into this tournament that it was going to be a challenge playing with some bigger schools in the area,” Platte County coach Trevor Short said. “This is the type of challenge that the team likes to have and pushes them to be better golfers. The conditions were not great with rain staying with us for most of the day. The guys played OK and (Matt) seemed to play better as the rain got harder. He was on a mission.”
Park Hill narrowly missed a top-five team finish with a score of 333, one stroke back of fifth-place Lee’s Summit West and 16 strokes behind team champion Pembroke Hill. Park Hill South came in seventh in the team standings with a 342 after senior Tanner Owen carded a 2-over 74 to finish in second place.
Park Hill’s Tim Cation was the only other local medalist with a 5-over 77, part of a tie for fifth place. Kris Snodgrass, a junior and the Trojans’ only returning Missouri State Golf Championships qualifier, narrowly missed a medal with an 11-over 83 to finish in a tie for 19th.
Randen Plattner finished in a tie for 31st with a 14-over 86 and sophomore Davin Dorrel and freshman Ryan Graves finished in a tie for 37th to round out Park Hill’s team total.
Platte County’s Jack Laderoute and Park Hill South’s Dillon Murray and Zach Bischler joined Park Hill’s fourth and fifth finishers in a seven-way tie at 14-over. Laderoute was the No. 2 score for the Pirates, while Payton Boekhout and Jagger Zoellner shot matching 22-over 94s to finish in a tie for 63rd.
Tate Summa completed the score for Park Hill South, also tying for 63rd.
All three teams now prepare for the Suburban Conference championships scheduled for Monday, May 25. Park Hill and Park Hill South will play in the Red Division tournament at Moila Country Club in St. Joseph, Mo., while Platte County will be in the Blue Division tournament at Paradise Point Golf Complex in Smithville, Mo.
Park Hill South 168, Staley 178, Winnetonka 217
The Panthers won the quad matchup thanks to consistent scores Wednesday, April 13 at The Deuce in Parkville, Mo.
All five players were at 9-over or better, including a team-best 5-over 40 for Owen. Murray and Bischler shot matching 42s, and Summa and Harrison Feaster were two shots back with 44s for the Panthers.
Pedro Ramirez won medalist honors for North Kansas City, which brought only two golfers and didn’t qualify for a team score.
Platte County 182, Cameron 188, Winnetonka 222
Gary Hennessy stepped up and tied Madill for medalist honors Thursday, April 14 at Shiloh Springs Golf Course. Both players were at 7-over 44 in the par 37 nine-hole competition.
All five players were tightly bunched for Platte County, between 44 and 49.
The results of the match were good, but the performance to get the results was not great,” Short said. “It is always nice to get a notch in the win column, but we have the ability to produce much lower scores.”