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68 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 17, 2005 North’s Barry takes first-day lead at state By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune OREGON CITY — A Web site referred to him as "Andres the Giant," for his gargantuan achievements and grand aspirations. Yes, there’s a giant among the golfers at the Class 4A boys state championship tournament — and Mike Barry is poised to play giant killer. Barry, the North Medford senior, crafted a steady, sometimes spectacular, back nine Monday at Stone Creek Golf Club and shaped it into the lowest round of Day 1. The Southern Oregon Conference champion, who was paired with the perceived favorite by many, Tualatin’s Dustin Andres, played his second nine in 3 under par to finish with a 70. His 2-under total in on-again-off-again rain and wind was one shot better than five other players and four shots better than the 74 of Andres, who will go down as one of the most acclaimed Oregon junior golfers in history. Advertisement "It was a good comeback," Barry said of his inward trip. "The front side is the easier side, and I played it pretty badly. To come back and shoot under on the harder side was nice." While Barry was positioning himself for a run at Medford’s first state title in 23 years, Ashland found itself in the middle of the pack in the team race. The Grizzlies, the lone SOC representative after Roseburg forfeited its season championship and berth at state, shot a 314 team total and are in an eighth-place tie with Central Catholic. Ashland’s Greg Harvey and Joel Salmond led the way with scores of 75 and 76, respectively. Sheldon leads the team race at 298, three shots ahead of second-place Tualatin. Certainly there will be attention focused on the team competition as juggernaut Tualatin, which boasts two former state medalists in seniors Andres and Andrew Leneve, goes for its fourth consecutive crown. But the individual chase is shaping up to be a dandy competition as well. Andres has his work cut out to get back in the picture, but few doubt he’s capable. Andres won the 4A title as a freshman, finished sixth as a sophomore and tied for 13th last year. He’s claimed a slew of junior tournaments, especially in 2003, when he was named Northwest Region player of the year, and he’s still sifting through a number of Division I college scholarship offers. Some might have blanched at the prospect of going head-to-head with such an imposing figure. Barry embraced it. "Actually," said Barry, who will be grouped with Andres again today, "I like playing with Dustin. Me and him, on our good days, are pretty even. It’s always a pretty good battle. He’s got a really solid swing, and when I play with people with good swings, it helps my tempo. It took me a while to get my swing together, but I finally did on the back." And in doing so, kept alive his chances at becoming the Black Tornado’s first state winner since Tony Joyner in 1982. The last SOC player to win the crown was Jason Allred in 1996. Despite fighting a driver that developed a mind of its own, Barry scored consistently well with the exception of one bungled hole. Entering the eighth, he and Andres were each 1 over. But Andres made an eagle-3 on the 508-yard par 5, and Barry bogeyed after missing an 8-foot birdie attempt, then haphazardly swiping at the 2- footer that remained. It was a three-shot swing away from the king and put Barry in a suddenly precarious situation. "Instead of marking it and stepping back, like we’ve talked about for four years," said North coach Kevin Klabunde, "he got up and slapped at it and missed." It would be his defining moment, to be sure, but not in a negative sense. Feeling the need to atone, Barry made a wonderful short approach from the rough on No. 9 and birdied the par 4, setting himself up for his back-side surge. "A lot of people say a good shot was the turning point in their round," said Klabunde. "By missing that putt, that was his turning point. He became more focused. He told me on the 10th tee, ‘I can’t do that. I know better than that.’ He kicked himself in the butt mentally, so to speak." The course, designed by Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy, is distinguished by a wide-open front nine and a tight, tree-infested second nine. Nevertheless, Barry birdied the two par 5s on the back, Nos. 11 and 18, and threw in a nifty birdie at the 143-yard 16th, when his tee shot nestled about 15 inches below the cup. The birdie at 11 got Barry back to even for the day and made him think he could rally. He winced when he hit his drive, thinking it had again gone astray, but was heartened to find his ball in perfect shape, 215 yards out. A crisp 5-iron got him to the fringe, and two putts sent him on his way. The 13th and 15th holes are the Nos. 1 and 3 handicap holes, the kind you "take par on and walk away," said Klabunde. "Or run," said John Barry, Mike’s father, who was in the gallery. Indeed, Barry parred both, and Andres bogeyed each. Andres was disappointed with his final score but knows it could have been much better without a couple of three-putt double bogeys. "They cost me four shots," said Andres, who came within a whisker of a second eagle at No. 18 when his putt from the fringe ran over the edge of the cup. He credited Barry for "making something out of nothing. He came out pretty flat and turned it around. My hat’s off to him for grinding it out." After his round, Barry grabbed a quick sandwich and headed to the driving range. "I really like being in the position I’m in," he said, "especially with the way I played. My driver kind of left me all day and I was scrambling on a lot of holes. If I can straighten it out on the range, I think I’ll be able to go a little lower." South Medford senior Brodie Sullivan, who qualified as an individual, started on the back nine and got off to a hot start, playing the first three holes in 1 under. But he slipped on a wet, hilly area and twisted an ankle, and finished the front in 44. With a noticeable limp, he "just tried to put it in the fairway" on his second nine and shot 37 for an 81 total. Class 4A Boys Golf DAY 1 RESULTS TEAM SCORES — Sheldon 298, Tualatin 301, Jesuit 303, Summit, 303, Canby 306, Sunset 308, Clackamas 310, Ashland 314, Central Catholic 314, Bend 317, West Albany 317, Wilson 318, Marshfield 320, Lincoln 320, West Linn 324, Crescent Valley 329, Barlow 338. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (TOP 10) — 1, Mike Barry, North Medford, 37-33—70; T2, Terence Macatangay, Sunset, 35-36—71; T2, Tyler Simpson, Clackamas, 34-37—71; T2, Kevin Showalter, Central Catholic, 34-37—71; T2, Armen Kirakossian, Wilson, 34-37—71; T2, Trevor Moffitt, Sheldon, 35-36—71; 7, Chris Polski, Sheldon, 37-35—72; 8, John O’Hollaren, Summit, 35-38—73; T9, Landon Banks, Beaverton, 36-38—74; T9, Matt Lemman, Lake Oswego, 36-38—74; T9, Robbie Ziegler, Canby, 36-38—74; T9, Dustin Andres, Tualatin, 35-39—74; T9, Jeff Petroff, Jesuit, 34-40—74. OTHER LOCAL RESULTS ASHLAND (314) — T14, Greg Harvey 36-39—75; T23, Joel Salmond 37-39—76; T58, Will Murphy 42-39—81; T73, Ben Wright 42-40—82; T90, Austin Harfst 36-50—86. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS — T58, Brodie Sullivan, South Medford, 37-44—81; T58, Derek Rampersaud, Roseburg, 41-40—81; T86, Mike Leonard, Grants Pass, 41-44—85; T86, Calen Nicholson, Grants Pass, 41-44—85; T86, Mackenzie Gordon, Roseburg, 45-40—85. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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