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After a record-breaking season, the FHS boys golf team came within one stroke of a state title on May 22 and 23. Following two rounds of golf at the Yellowstone and Lake Hills country clubs in Billings, the Braves found themselves in a tie with hometown favorite Billings Senior.
After Billings Senior had played the Braves closely for the entire match, Billings tied Flathead and the two teams advanced to a playoff round.
The Braves teed off four seniors — Ryan Santa, Jess Roper, Ben Parsons, and Travis Schule — on the par four first hole at Lake Hills. The playoff was almost over right after the drives were finished as a Billings Senior golfer put his drive within two inches of out-of-bounds giving the Braves the upper hand coming off the tees. . “We had a big crowd of people cheering for us during the playoff,” said junior Justin Dorr. “They were all very impressed with our performance as a team.”
Santa made a spectacular shot from behind a tree to set up his six-foot birdie putt. But with three Braves and only one Bronc on the green in regulation, things began to go wrong for the Braves. Santa finished out with a birdie and Parsons with a par. Roper got caught up in the trees and was forced to chip on in three and then both he and Schule three-putted to score a double bogey and bogey respectively. Billings battled back to chalk up three pars and a bogey giving them the one stroke victory.
“I think we thought that we had it won before the hole was really over,” said Parsons.
The second at state caps off a strong season from the Braves, which included four first place and three second place finishes. The most notable victory came at the divisional tournament held in Kalispell and Whitefish where the Braves won by a record 50 strokes.
“This was the best season I’ve ever had,” said Roper. “I had tons of fun. It’s just to bad it had to end the way it did.” |
