Humboldt High School freshman Connor Newman picked up his first Tri-Valley League title in dramatic fashion after edging Erie junior Ty Barnhart by three strokes Monday.
Newman finished the day four over par while carding a 76 at the Caney Valley Golf Club while narrowly defeating Barnart in each round.
“Caney is a hard course to open the year on, with their infamous turtleback greens which are notoriously more difficult to work with, especially when it is not our everyday course,” said Humboldt coach Bret Hauser before Monday’s contest.
Newman began the day with a 40 on the front nine holes, just one stroke ahead of Barnhart, then added a bit of distance to his lead in the back nine after shooting a 36 to Barnhart’s 38.
Taking multiple tournament titles following his high school debut in March, Newman shaved two strokes off his debut total of 78 at the Caney Valley Golf Club. The win marks Newman’s fifth tournament title so far.
As a team, the Cubs finished third among the six teams competing Monday with a team total of 431, which was 27 strokes from second-place Erie.
Junior Layne Ellison was Humboldt’s next highest finisher after taking 11th
after carding a 105. He opened the tournament by shooting a 57 on the front nine, then dramatically improved his place in the standings with a 48 on the back nine.
Seniors Curt Shannon, Colden Cook and sophomore Thatcher Mueller finished 21st, 22nd and 23rd respectively to lock down third place. Shannon finished with an even 61 in both rounds, 11 strokes better than performance at the Caney Invitational in March.
Cook, who did not participate in the Caney Valley Invitational, saw the course for the first time this year. He opened by shooting a 65 on the front nine, then improved on the back with 63 strokes to card a 128. Mueller shot a 64 in the opening round, then ended the day by shooting a 69 on the back nine to card 133.
