Liberty junior Sam Parrott finishes second at Missouri Class 4 state golf meet

Liberty golfer Sam Parrott spent the final week of his sophomore year as a spectator. He missed the Missouri Class 4 state-qualifying cut by 2 strokes last spring, which provided an abrupt end to the season.

A year later, he stuck in the thick of the state-championship race until the final turn.

Parrott placed second at the Class 4 state tournament Tuesday at Silo Ridge Golf and Country Club in Bolivar, Mo., recording a two-day total of 150.

Noah Anderson of Columbia Battle won the tournament, posting a two-day total of 148.

“I knew I could get back here if I played my best golf,” Parrott said. “Being second in the state, it’s pretty awesome. It makes me confident in the things I can do. The goals for next year are only going to get higher from here.”

Parrott, Anderson and Lee’s Summit West senior Kerry Maguire shared the tournament lead after Monday’s opening round. Maguire finished in a tie for eighth place.

Lee’s Summit West’s James O’Connor climbed up to third place with a 3-over par 75 on Tuesday. In rainy and windy conditions, nobody shot under par in the second round.

Rockhurst compiled the top team score on Tuesday, shaving 11 strokes off their first-round total to post a 311 and conclude the tournament in second place, six behind champion Springfield Glendale.

Rob Enright placed fifth with a 153, and Aaron Lang was 14th with a 157 for the Hawklets, who have taken either first or second in the state in eight of the past nine years.

“They grinded it out more than anything because the conditions weren’t ideal,” Rockhurst coach Paul Beirne said. “In a two-day tournament, the hope is always that you can play better in the second day than you did (in) the first, and we definitely did that.”

Liberty North placed eighth in the Class 4 team race.

Park Hill South senior Tanner Owen made the cut for Class 4 all-state honors, placing 15th.

The second day of the Missouri Class 3 tournament was rained out, and MSHSAA elected to have Monday’s first round serve as the final result. That concluded Pembroke Hill’s bid for a third straight team championship.

The Raiders took second place with a team total of 316 on Monday at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield, seven strokes behind champion Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School.

The 77s on the cards of Pembroke Hill golfers William Esrey, Charlie Hamilton and Jack Mitchell were good for seventh place.

“When I told them they were not going to play, the air got sucked out of the room. They’re bummed,” Pembroke Hill coach Evan Scobie said. “Instead of us having a chance for a comeback, they realized that was the last time they were going to play together competitively. They’re disappointed, but the course is almost completely under water, so it wasn’t playable today.”

In Missouri Class 1, Orrick golfer Brandon Edney took 18th, shooting an 87 at Fremont (Mo.) Hills Country Club. The first round Monday was postponed.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 6:20 PM with the headline "Liberty junior Sam Parrott finishes second at Missouri Class 4 state golf meet."