RAYMORE, Mo. — This time around, Jay Threadgill made sure he wouldn’t be on the outside looking in.
The Park Hill South golfer fired a 4-over 76 and tied for second place at the Class 4 Sectional 4 meet held Monday at The Golf Club at Creekmor.
A year ago, he shot an 82 and was two shots away from advancing to the state finals.
That close call drove him this year and he punched a ticket to the Class 4 Championships, which will start Monday at Swope Park Golf Course in Kansas City.
“I missed the cut (last year) by two strokes and I had the determination to come out and shoot my lowest score possible,” he said.
He did just that, shooting his lowest score ever in a field that didn’t have any golfer shoot below par. The championship went to Carson St. Clair of Rockhurst, one of the final scores to come in. He shot a 2-over 74 to win.
Up to that point, Threadgill and Liberty’s Digger Dobbler were tied for first.
“Some people have better days, but I felt I could’ve shot better,” Threadgill said. “I think the nerves were there, but I knew how to handle them better since I had been at sectionals before. I knew how to control them and piece everything together.”
Threadgill had birdies on Nos. 9 and 16 to help his cause. His round also featured 11 pars.
The top two teams and the next 12 golfers advanced to the state finals. Rockhurst won the sectional title with a 312, while Liberty was second at 327.
Park Hill was tied for sixth in the team standings with 343 points, tying with St. Joseph Central. Last week, Central took second ahead of the Trojans in the district tournament.
Ryan Graves shot a 6-over 78 and tied for eighth in the individual standing to punch his ticket to the state meet for the second year in a row.
Going into the final hole, Graves was sitting at 3-over, but a triple bogey dropped him from a possible runner-up finish to a four-way tie for eighth. He will advance to state again, coming off an 86th-place showing last spring.
“He gets to play another day,” Park Hill coach Zach Dorrell said. “Ryan is starting to play better. He is doing a good job of staying calm and not letting emotions dictate how he plays. He is looking forward to playing at state. We played there (Swope) for a match and he did OK. He is long and there are scoreable holes if you hit it straight.”
Grant Shumacher shot a 12-over 84 to tie for 25th and finish three shots off the final qualifying spot. The biggest hiccup for Schumacher was back-to-back double bogeys.
Davin Dorrell shot 18 over, followed by Joey Keeth at 19 and Randen Plattner at 30.
Dorrell and Plattner, both seniors, played their final tournament for the Trojans.
Class 3 Sectional 4
Logan Hessemeyer is headed back to state for Platte County.
The sophomore shot a 3-over 74 to finish third overall in a field of 50 golfers.
“Logan started off with a little hiccup by accidentally hitting another player’s ball on the second shot of the first tee,” Platte County coach Trevor Short said. “This error caused him to incur a two-stroke penalty right off the bat. This could have easily set the tone for the rest of the day, but Hessemyer stayed strong and didn’t let it get to him.”
He shot 34 on the front nine, the second lowest behind champion August Hoffman of Pembroke Hill, who shot 33. Hessemeyer shot 40 on the back nine to finish with 74, one spot behind Pleasant Hill’s Trey Stone and five back of Hoffman, who shot a 3-under 69 to win.
He helped the Raiders win the team title with a 300, while St. Pius X took second at 316.
The second Pirate at the meet was Jack Laderoute. The senior shot a 13-over 85 and finished in 26th place. He was three shots off the final qualifying spot, which went to Cameron’s Spencer Teel.
“The team is very grateful for everything that Jack Laderoute has done in his four year career on the Platte County golf team.” Short said. “His attitude, leadership, and personality will be missed. We wish him all the best as he continues his education at Ole Miss.”
The Class 3 final is at Old Kinderhook in Camdenton, Mo.
