What to watch for at the Missouri high school boys golf state tournaments

The Missouri high school boys golf state tournaments will take place Monday and Tuesday. The Class 4 tourney will be played in Joplin, with the Class 3 tournament in Sedalia, the Class 2 championship in Nixa and the Class 1 event in Bolivar.

What to watch for at the championships:

1. The hot streaks

Momentum counts. And a few golfers from Kansas City will take some into their respective state tournaments.

Rockhurst’s Ethan Packel shot even par to win the Class 4, Sectional 4 tournament last week at Paradise Pointe in Smithville. Liberty North’s Drew Neuerburg and Lee’s Summit North’s Michael Worth weren’t too far behind. Equally likely to make a run for the top of the Class 4 leader board will be Rockhurst No. 1 golfer Jake Propeck, who tied for fourth at sectionals a week after taking home medalist honors at the Class 4, District 7 meet.

In Class 3, St. Pius X golfer Cole Elling is coming off a sectional tournament championship. Pembroke Hill’s August Hoffman put together a top-five showing at sectionals a week after winning his district title.

Barstow’s Richard Bray and Matthew Bruce posted the best two local qualifying scores in Class 2.

2. The top returners

Moments after walking off the course at last year’s state meet, where he celebrated a second-place finish, Liberty golfer Sam Parrott already had his sights set on his senior season.

“The goals only get higher from here,” he said.

There’s just one spot left to climb. Parrott returns to the Class 4 state tournament after top-10 showings at his sectional and district tournaments. He has company from last year’s leader board. Lee’s Summit West golfer James O’Connor placed third in the Class 4 tournament last season, and Rockhurst’s Rob Enright was fifth. Both have qualified this week.

3. The team races

The list features little variety.

Three teams from the Kansas City metro qualified their full five-man teams for the state meets, and it’s the same three teams that accomplished the feat last spring — Rockhurst and Liberty North in Class 4 and Pembroke Hill in Class 3.

Rockhurst is the most noteworthy of the bunch, given its history. The Hawklets have placed in the top three at state in 19 of the last 21 seasons.

Rockhurst won its district and sectional championships, shooting 305 in each of them.

This story was originally published May 14, 2017 at 5:12 PM with the headline "What to watch for at the Missouri high school boys golf state tournaments."