Ferris boys finish second at state again
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Ferris took second place for the third time in four years Wednesday in the State 4A golf tournament at the Shuksan Golf Club.
Five Greater Spokane League golfers finished in the top 20.
Ferris senior Ryan Jones placed second overall, shooting 70-70–140. Central Valley sophomore Tanner Robb finished in a four-way tie for seventh place, shooting 70-74–143 in his first state appearance. University sophomore Hank Frame, who started the round 3 under par, finished in a two-way tie for 11th place, shooting 69-76–145. Lewis and Clark freshman Christian Alfaro tied for 13th place, shooting 74-72–146. Ferris senior Dustin Poe shot 74-74–148 and tied for 18th place.
Jones, who missed the state tournament by three strokes last year, said he was able to stay calm and focused.
“My mental side of the game has been a lot better this year. I didn’t want to hold anything back,” he said. “I was maybe a little nervous coming down the 18th and after that little debacle on 17 I was kind of a little nervous, but you just have to get that out of your head because there’s another hole to play.”
Jones may have placed lower had the tournament officials not reversed a controversial two-stroke penalty on the 17th hole. The official initially ruled Jones had illegally fixed a ball divot on the fairway in his line to the hole after his tee shot.
“The mark was in front of me, but it was off to the right,” Jones said. “We were playing winter rules, which is you can clean and place your ball. I saw a big hole in the fairway and just kind of stepped on it just to fix it so there wasn’t a big hole on the fairway.”
Jones challenged the ruling when he turned in his scorecard. The other two players Jones was teamed with, Robb and Bellarmine Prep senior T.J. Bordeax, each vouched for Jones.
“T.J. and I were pretty adamant that it shouldn’t have been a penalty,” Robb said. “It never went through because it wasn’t really in his line of path. It was probably a foot in the other direction.”
Kamiak took the team title for the state tournament and Eastlake sophomore Kevin Penner placed first overall, shooting 68-69–137.
Poe, who finished first in the District 8 4A tournament and 16th in state last year, said he was disappointed in his performance because he had high expectations for the tournament.
Ferris will lose Poe and Ryan, as both seniors will golf for WSU next year.
“I’ve had these kids for four years now,” Ferris coach Clarence Hough said. “I thought it would be a breakthrough round for them and it was.”