Stanford makes charge at tournament record
OCS golfer ‘settles’ for 62, leads Saints to team title at Kingfisher
Stanford makes charge at tournament record
Stanford makes charge at tournament record
ABOVE: KHS golfer Hayes White watches from behind as Luciano Orozco hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during Wednesday’s round. LEFT: Cale Reagan watches his chip shot head toward the green on the back-nine. RIGHT: OCS golfer Ainslie Stanford fired an
The record was 4 feet away from Ainslie Stanford.
But, just like his final putt, it slipped right by.
As it stood, the Oklahoma Christian School golfer had to “settle” for a 62 and tying the Kingfisher Large School Invitational Tournament record on Wednesday.
Stanford’s round of 8-under- par at Kingfisher Golf Course tied the tournament record set by Heritage Hall’s Ben Lathrop last year.
Before Lathrop broke it, the previous low round of 63 by Kingfisher’s Mason Overstreet had stood since 2015.
Lathrop returned to defend his individual title and had already turned in a 65 as he waited for Stanford to play his final hole of the day, the par-5 10th.
OCS started the tournament on No. 11 and Stanford tore up much of the back-nine with four birdies, an eagle and three pars.
He got himself to 8-under with back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes on the front-nine.
Stanford then survived the tough stretch of holes 6, 7, 8 and 9 and sat at 9-under as he walked across the street for his final hole.
A par would give Stanford a 61 and the record.
The possibility of a 60 or even a 59 was still on the table.
But then Stanford’s tee shot found the creek that lines the right side of the fairway.
That took eagle off the table and made birdie tougher, but par was still very much on the table.
Stanford gave himself a chance and got his fourth shot within 4 feet of the pin.
But his par putt missed, giving Stanford his lone bogey of the day.
“That’s how it goes sometimes,” Stanford said after the round.
All five Saints golfers shot 78 or better as they rolled to the team title with a 266 using the Maxwell scoring system.
That beat runner-up Heritage Hall and Crossings Christian by 17 strokes.
Heritage Hall took second on a scorecard playoff.
Kingfisher placed 10th in the 20-team field with a 315.
The Jackets were led by Luciano Orozco’s 78, which tied for 25th out of 99 golfers.
Cale Reagan tied for 35th with his 80 and Hayes White tied for 47th with an 83.
River Roof shot an 86 and Hagen Owens an 88, tying them for 61st and 65th, respectively.
Lathrop’s 65 was good for second individually.
There were five rounds under-par on the day.
Stanford’s OCS teammate Charles Tidwell placed third with a 66 while Tuttle’s Bryce Freeman and Heritage Hall’s Everett Strickland each shot 69s.
Freeman took fourth on a scorecard playoff.