Carson finishes second at Sierra League tourney

GENOA - Led by Tyson Roser's 77, Carson High's golf team closed out the regular season with its fourth second-place effort of the season Monday at Genoa Lakes Golf Club.

The Senators shot 400, 16 strokes behind league champ Reno, which had five players break 80. North Valleys was third with a 426 and South Tahoe was fourth at 430.

All four teams qualified for next week's 36-hole Northern 4A Regional Tournament at Lakeridge Golf Club along with Wooster's Bobby McCracken and Douglas' Skylar McNabb, Pat Sergott, Sam Sourikoff and Jeremy Henningsen.

"I'm not surprised we've done so well," Roser said. "We have the potential. It's a matter of taking advantage of it."

That means all six Carson golfers breaking 80. Only three did it Monday - Roser, J.T. Cockerill (78) and Kyle Winter (79). Brice Crook shot 85 and Jimmy Potter had an 81.

Roser's 5-over-par 77 was his second-lowest of the season. He shot a 74 at Eagle Valley-East in the first round of the annual Carson Invitational.

"I feel good," Roser said. "I left a lot of strokes on the greens today. I hit the ball well enough that I easily could have shot a 69, but I didn't capitalize. It's an improvement from Saturday."

His only birdie of the round came on No. 4, a 337-yard par-4. Roser drove the ball in the fairway, hit a three-quarter pitching wedge to within 20 feet and drained the putt.

Roser's score may have been at par had he not had some problems with the par-3 holes on the back side. He doubled the 149-yard 12th hole and the 215-yard 14th hole. Had he been able to shave a stroke off on each of those holes, he would have tied Reno's Andrew Amadin (75) for medalist honors.

Cockerill was in the hunt for medalist honors until the final five holes (5 through 9) when he carded four straight bogeys and a double-bogey to finish with 78.

"I was unhappy with the way I finished," he said. "Each one (of the bogeys) I lipped out a par putt. My putter let me down. I did make a lot of birdies (four). That gives me confidence going into zone. I have to work on putting and get that down."

Cockerill needed 36 putts to get around the 6,774-yard course, which was probably about six or seven more than he would have liked.

Starting on No. 10, Cockerill bogeyed the first hole after an errant approach shot. He got that shot back on No. 11, a 329-yard par-4. Cockerill pounded a 290-yard drive, flipped a wedge shot to 5 feet and drained the putt.

Throughout the rest of his first nine holes, Cockerill experienced the gamut of emotions. He bogeyed both of the par 3's like Roser (12 and 14) and No. 18. He recorded pars on 13, 15, and 16.

On the 351-yard par-4, Cockerill blasted his drive to within a few yards of the green. Unfortunately, he left his chip several feet short of the cup and missed the putt, settling for a par on what should have been a birdie hole.

His second birdie came on No. 17, the 480-yard par-5. He drilled his second shot to the green about 20 feet left of the hole and two-putted. He birdied the 403-yard first hole when he knocked in an 8-footer. On No. 4, he hit an 8-iron to within 3 feet and sank the putt.

Winter broke out of a mini slump with his 79. It was the first time he'd been under 80 since an early season tournament at Wildcreek when he shot 75.

"That's the best I've hit the ball since Wildcreek," said Winter, who recorded two birdies.

Winter's first birdie came on No. 13 when he hit driver, 3-iron to the green and two-putted from about 25 feet. The second came on No. 5 when he holed a wedge from 35 yards after his approach shot was short and left of the green.

Winter had three double-bogeys, but made a lot of par-saving putts.

n Darrell Moody can be reached at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling 881-1281