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42 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, April 14, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend March 28, 2004 North Medford golfer Mike Barry won the SOC district title as a freshman. Barry is back on course Faux pas at district last spring has the North Medford junior golfer eager to resume his place atop the SOC By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune The key to a good disappearing act is making the subject reappear. Poof! Mike Barry is back. The last time the North Medford golfer was on display, it was during the 2003 Southern Oregon Conference championships. In defense of the title he won as a freshman, he crafted a first-day 69 at Rogue Valley Country Club and led by seven strokes at the halfway point. Advertisement Then came the bewitching hour. Barry and teammate Adam Browne went back out for practice, hitting a couple of shots on No. 1 before they were hastily ushered from the course. It was too late. By practicing on the course they were to compete on the next day, they violated a United States Golf Association rule and — poof! — were disqualified before Day 2 play began. "I think the whole experience made me mature a little bit," says Barry of the incident that also cost him a chance to compete at state. "I saw a lot of the interviews where people said I handled it like a true gentleman of the game. It really made me mature. "The thing that comes out of it is that I know the game a little more. I read the rule book a month later ... the entire rule book. I think it made me a better golfer going through that whole experience." It also kicked his determination, and therefore his game, into overdrive. That’s been evident in his play since. Barry has fared well in regional- and national-level tournaments on the International Junior Golf Tour (IJGT), and he opened his junior season two weeks ago with a 67 in an all-SOC meet, seven shots clear of runner-up Browne. "I think I definitely have a bigger drive to play better this year and prove to everyone I should have won four district titles," says Barry. "Since the rules are the rules, I have to stick with three, and that would be good enough for a pretty good high school career." North coach Kevin Klabunde says the team will not focus on what happened last year, but he expects both Barry and Browne, a senior, to feed off the adversity. "I’m sure it will be in the backs of their minds and make them a little hungrier," he says. "They’re both in pretty good places, mentally." Barry has been in a pretty good place for some time. Last June, he was second in the state stroke play championships, qualifying for the world tournament a month later at Torrey Pines in San Diego. He placed 28th there out of 205 competitors. In November, he won an IJGT event at Napa, Calif., then followed in early February by winning the IJGT Mid-Season Championship in Phoenix. Along the way, he qualified for the IJGT Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Fla., in late May and the North America Cup in South Carolina next summer. An example of how much more focused Barry is on golf came around the first of the year, when he left the Black Tornado basketball team to concentrate on golf. It was the first winter the 6-foot-4 guard didn’t play a full basketball season. The increased practice time and high-level tournament play fortified him and his game. "I’ve gotten more competitive," says Barry, "and I think it really shows right now." Prior to North’s first match, the team held four, nine-hole qualifying rounds at Rogue Valley. Barry was 9 under par for the first 27 holes before going 3 over in the final outing. Two things are apparent in Barry’s game over last season, says Klabunde: Even his bad shots are pretty good, and his composure has improved. "Golf is a game of misses," says Klabunde, "and his misses are significantly better than last year. If he missed a tee shot last year, it could be anywhere. When he hits what he feels is a miss this year, it’s still in play. He’s reduced his tee shot dispersion, and he’s so long. He’s increased his distance off the tee and reduced the wing span of his missed tee shots, so that’s huge." On the mental side, Barry is better about not letting a bad shot or a bad hole influence what he does next. "Mike does a good job of keeping that in check," says Klabunde. "He’s still a very emotional player. His expectations are high, and if he doesn’t meet those, he can get down on himself and show a little fire out there. So far, he hasn’t let that turn negative on him." Rather than getting frustrated over a poor hole, Barry says, he now takes it as a challenge to bear down and try to make birdie on the next. It seems to be working. The 67 he shot recently came despite two "really bad bogeys," but he didn’t let them bring his game down. "I felt like I played real solid, but I still felt like there were some shots I could have made out there that would have made the round go a little lower," he says. With Barry, who has already been contacted by a number of colleges, and Browne leading the way, North figures to be in the hunt for a berth to the state tournament. The Tornado will also count on Dave Mayer, Mark Wilson, Chris Oetinger and Nick Taylor. Jonathan Curtright injured himself in a skateboarding accident and is out indefinitely. Last year, Roseburg went to state as No. 1 and South Medford overtook depleted North on Day 2 of the SOC tourney to earn the No. 2 berth. "We have a pretty solid team coming back," says Barry. "I think it (SOC race) will come down to the last counting tournament. I think it’ll be a tight race." And he intends to be there to the end. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? 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