Monday will be a battle of potential state champions as Humboldt sophomore state runner-up Connor Newman and Iola senior sixth-place state finalist Brennen Coffield do battle at the return of the Buck Quincy Invitational.
After closing for renovations last season, the course at Allen County Country Club will play host to the invitational.
“Brennen has played that course his entire life and if he can get through it, without making any mistakes or being too aggressive on hole, he should do pretty well,” Iola coach Jeremy Sellman said.
Coffield picked up his first title of the season at the Osawatomie Invitational Saturday. He bested his
nearest competitor by two strokes while shooting four over par and carding a 77.
“He had four holes where he just went downhill, but he righted the ship and turned it around,” Coach Sellman said. “He calmed down a little bit. I just had to talk him through a few shots, and he got his confidence back.”
As a team, the Mustangs finished fifth out of 12 competitors, eight strokes behind tournament champion Basehor-Linwood.
Senior Baron Folk also brought home some hardware after finishing 12th overall with an 87 for 16 over par. Juniors Isaiah Geisler and Ean De La Torre tied for 37th place after carding a 96 for 25 over par.
“Baron has an old man swing — he won’t hit it far, but it stays in the fairway,” Sellman said. “He just kept plugging right along. He played mistake-free.”
As for the Cubs, they also finished fifth as a team while Newman captured his fourth tournament title at the Fredonia Invitational. Newman, who was recently ranked as the No. 1 2A golfer by the Kansas Golf Coaches Association, was three strokes better than his nearest competitor after carding a 75 for three over par.
Sophomore Blayden McGuire finished 14th after carding a 94 for 22 over par. Junior Thatcher Mueller took 31st with a 107 for 35 over par and senior Lane Ellison took 41st after shooting a 117 for 45 over par.
Play for Monday’s tournament begins at 11 a.m.
