Fore! Here comes the 2015-16 high school sports season.
The season officially began Tuesday in Clark County when the Skyview and Columbia River boys golf teams squared off.
It wasn’t a scrimmage. It wasn’t a jamboree. An actual live contest took place at Tri-Mountain Golf Course.
Instead of a raucous grandstand, the soundtrack was punctuated by a bird’s call, frog’s croak or the ping of a well-struck drive. The hum of nearby Interstate 5 faded into the background, except for the occasional belch of a tractor-trailer’s compression brakes.
Yes, the setting was much more subdued than a Friday night football game. But the golfers on Tuesday echoed familiar themes that make high school athletics special, no matter the sport.
No. 1 on the list? Fun.
A few hijinks are bound to happen when a half-dozen teenagers play golf together nearly every day for two months.
Columbia River’s Jake Larson said no shot during practice is off limits from a purposeful cough or shout during the backswing.
“They yelled ‘shank,’ and that’s exactly what I did,” Larsen said, recalling the last time his teammates got him good.
As Columbia River’s golfers finished their round Tuesday, their golf bags made a motley collection behind the ninth green. Driver covers in the likeness of the Pink Panther, an old shoe and Stewie from “Family Guy” gave each collection of clubs its own quirk.
Much of that fun comes from being part of a team. Tuesday, Skyview’s golfers wore bandanas around their foreheads. The ritual dates to last season when the Storm donned the headware, then beat a talented Camas team.
“You’re playing for your school,” Skyview senior Jackson Guffey said. “With me, I have a lot of pride for my school. It’s really cool to be able to represent that through golf.”
Zach Peros spent the summer playing Oregon Junior Golf tournaments. The Skyview junior did pretty well too, finishing in the top-three of a few events.
“It was probably my best summer ever,” he said.
When asked what he enjoys most about high school golf, Peros was quick to answer.
“It’s the people,” he said. “When you’re playing Oregon Junior Golf, you get to know the guys a little from playing with them. But in high school golf, you’re going to school with them, so you’re interacting off the golf course as well.”
Tuesday, Peros shot an even-par 37 to tie for the lowest round of the day.
He would have had that honor by himself if not for River’s Nick Ayres making a 50-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth hole.
As the putt rolled, Ayres cocked his fist, then punched through the air as the ball disappeared into the hole.
“I just like to have fun on the course,” Ayres said. “When a putt like that goes in, it’s one of the best feelings in golf.”
Skyview and Columbia River each finished with 158, a score tallied by combining the four lowest rounds. Skyview officially won on a tiebreaker because its golfers shot better on the No. 1 handicap hole.
There were no victory dances or solemn post-loss speeches. Rather, jokes and banter filled the air as the golfers walked toward the parking lot.
After all, they had just spent the last two hours playing a game.
“It’s nice to tell my parents that I have to play golf today,” Columbia River’s Joe Beuselinck said.
High school boys golf storylines for 2015-16 season
Camas senior Brian Humphreys will cap his stellar high school career. When the 4A state tournament comes around in the spring, Humphreys will look for his fourth top-three finish. He won as a freshman and placed second last season despite a two-stroke penalty the he called on himself.
Spencer Tibbits is another state champion looking for more. After winning the 3A tournament as a freshman, he finished runner-up last season. The Fort Vancouver junior has had a busy summer of tournament golf, which included playing in the sectional qualifier for the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.
Union junior Ben Gruher will be looking to repeat as 4A Greater St. Helens League district champion. He also had a busy summer playing in Oregon Junior Golf events.
Columbia River junior Spencer Long will look to challenge Tibbits after finishing second by 11 strokes at last year’s 3A district tournament.
