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Kinney hopes to regain SOC girls golf crown By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN The 1999 season was not something North Medford High golfer Tai Kinney remembers with fondness. It was a nightmare. Kinney was the SOC girls golf tournament medalist two years ago then struggled to a third-place last season as a sophomore and finished behind runner-up Johnna Nealy of Grants Pass and champion Judy Bayliss of Roseburg. "I didn't have a good year at all," says Kinney, who divides her athletic talent between golf and softball in the spring. "I was trying to do a lot, and there wasn't time. "This term, I'm only taking five courses, which cuts down on my school work so that I have more time to play two sports. I also have a new teacher (Grants Pass Golf and Country Club head professional Ed Fisher), and he's helped me a lot with my swing and the focus of my game." The results have been impressive. Kinney has been medalist in three of four pre-district SOC events for North this spring. Kinney and Nealy are once again the favorites in the SOC tournament today and Tuesday at Grants Pass. The SOC boys tournament is also today and Tuesday at Eagle Point Golf Course. Tee times begin at noon each day. The top five individuals and top two teams qualify for the boys and girls state tournaments next Monday and Tuesday. The Class 4A boys state tournament is at Langdon Farms Golf Course near Portland and the girls play at Trysting Golf Course in Corvallis. While the girls SOC finals will be contested on Nealy's home course, Kinney takes the individual lead through the initial four tournaments with a 75.0 scoring average. Nealy is second at 80.5 and South Medford junior Abby Fowler is third at 84.0. In the girls team standings, Grants Pass is the leader with 1,470 strokes through four rounds, followed by Roseburg at 1,548, South Medford at 1,552, North Medford at 1,679, Klamath Union at 1,803 and Crater at 1,996. Kinney says she's ready to complete her drive to her second SOC title despite giving up the home course advantage to Nealy. "I've shot good scores and hit the ball a lot better," says Kinney. "The main thing is that I have been in the fairway more off the tee this year." Fowler was the medalist in the first pre-district tournament of the spring at Stewart Meadows Golf Course with a round of 1-over-par 73. She had two second-place finishes in other pre-district events. "I've worked hard on my game," says Fowler, who has only been playing golf for three years. "I picked up the game pretty fast, and my short game has really helped." The 5-foot-7, smooth swinger, drives the ball as long (220 to 230 yards) as any player in the SOC and has a solid iron game. "Abby has been consistent and finished near the top of all the pre-district tournaments," says South Medford coach Lowell Masters. "What we see is her highs and lows have narrowed this year and she's become a consistent player." South Medford will battle for the second spot in the final district standings with team balance. In addition to Fowler, the Panthers are strong with Kacy Clark, Natalie Botsford, Kellie Thomas and Sara Friend holding down the next four spots. South won two team titles in tournaments during the regular season. "Our goal is to finish second as a team and get to state," says Fowler. "We have a good chance." Other girls players expected to challenge to make the top five spots individually are Kari Gerretsen and Heather Warner of Roseburg. Through four rounds of counting district play, Roseburg and Ashland have opened up big leads over the other boys teams. Eric House of Roseburg is in first place individually with a 75.9 scoring average in four pre-district tournaments. Pete Kirkpatrick of Ashland is second with a 77.57 average and Kyle Orapallo of Ashland is third at 77.6. Defending SOC champion Kyle Oldfield of Ashland has a stroke average of 80.3. Junior Kyle Allred is Ashland's No. 5 player with a scoring average of 81.3. North Medford is led by junior Adam Huycke, who has an 81.0 average. Steve Hilgendorf leads South Medford with a 79.8 average. "We have a lot of kids capable of shooting low scores at any time," says Ashland coach Rich Mikula. "We have tremendous depth, and the best team in the conference as far as how many good players we have." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA