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Oldfield rally nabs SOC golf crown Indians top Grizz for boys golf title By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN ROSEBURG -- For a kid who had never shot better than 77 in a competitive round of golf, Kyle Oldfield picked the ideal time to step up in class. The Ashland High junior used precise iron shots and timely putting to rally with a 2-over-par 74 on Tuesday to win the Southern Oregon Conference boys individual medalist title at Roseburg Country Club. Oldfield, 16, who has never played as the No. 1 player for Ashland's team, fired a 36-hole total of 150 to win the district title by one stroke over Jeremy Thorburn of Roseburg, Pat Anderson of Roseburg and Geoff Davis of Grants Pass. Erik Hill of Grants Pass finished fifth at 152. Oldfield opened the tournament on Monday with a round of 76. "I didn't expect this at all," said Oldfield, who completed Tuesday's round with 31 putts. "It's very surprising." He got up and down (one chip and one putt) for par on four holes (Nos. 6, 8, 13 and 18) to keep his sizzling round going in cool, damp conditions. "I was just hitting my irons all over (the pins)," said Oldfield. "Putting is usually my strength, but today it was my irons and my chipping." Oldfield gives Ashland High its second straight SOC individual medalist. Jason Allred broke the tournament and Rogue Valley Country Club competitive scoring records with back-to-back 64s for a 16-under-par total of 128 last year. While OIdfield was sneaking in the back door to claim the individual title, Roseburg rolled to the SOC team championship and earned an automatic berth to next week's Class 4A state tournament at Trysting Tree Golf Course in Corvallis. Ashland also earned its second straight berth in the state tourney, as did the top five individual scorers in the SOC. The Indians shot a phenomenal four-player team score of 295 on Tuesday to hold off the charge of Ashland (302). Roseburg managed a nine-stroke edge over the Grizzlies in the two-day tourney, with the Indians at 604 and Ashland at 613. Roseburg was so good on its home course that Thorburn, the team's No. 1 player and runner-up in the final individual standings, didn't even contribute to the Indians' team scoring on Tuesday. His round of 78 was thrown out because Roseburg produced four better scores in the final round, using a 71 by Jason Gaston, 73 by Brian Pyle, 75 by No. 5 man Eric House and a 76 by Anderson. Anderson made bogeys at 16 and 18. If he had parred both holes, he would have won medalist honors. "He was right in front of the (par-5) 18th green in two shots and he chunked his third shot," said Roseburg coach Del Jordan. "That's too bad, but that's golf. "I've been around here a long time watching Roseburg golf," said Jordan. "I've never seen a team shoot 295, especially in the final round of district. I'm real happy. I think we have a chance to win the state championship. "Give Ashland a lot of credit. We shot our best team score of the season today and they were only seven strokes behind us at 302." For the season, Roseburg produced a team total of 1,446 strokes for six district-counting tournaments, including the final two rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Ashland was second at 1,492, followed by Grants Pass (1,600), North Medford (1,626), South Medford (1,640), Klamath Union (1,656), Crater (1,785) and Eagle Point (1,819). Eagle Point played without Ryan Frazier, who had the top average in the SOC prior to being declared ineligible two weeks ago. Oldfield found himself in a hazard to the left of the 18th green in two. He failed to escape the hazard on his first attempt and then chipped a shot from 25 feet away. The ball, which was rolling fast, hit the pin and stopped two feet away. "It was going to go about 15 feet past the pin," said Oldfield. "That was a big break. "It was still the longest 2-foot putt I've ever made. I knew that putt was for something." Kyle Freeman led North Medford with his second straight 81 for a 36-hole total of 162, while Nate Webb of South Medford shot his second consecutive 78 to total 156, four shots out of contention to qualify for the state tournament. Crater senior Logan Genaw, who shot a 76 on Monday, ballooned to an 88 on Tuesday to finish at 164. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.