Published: July 17, 2008 11:29 pm            

Tight-wire finishes: Goss makes comeback, while Engle wins in playoff

TERRE HAUTE — Play in the annual city junior golf tournament concluded Thursday at Rea Park with one title decided on the last hole and one in a three-hole playoff.

Terre Haute South High School players were involved in both down-to-the-wire finishes in the finals of the tournament played in sunny, warm conditions.

Thomas Goss capped a final-round comeback by sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole to defeat Zach Hosking by one shot for the boys 15-17 title. Sloane Engle birdied the third playoff hole to best Kelsey Fuqua for the girls 15-17 championship.

Goss went 34-34 to shoot a 2-under-par 68, the low round of the tournament, but still trailed Hosking, who shot 73 in the last round, by three shots at the turn.

He got even on No. 16 and won with his birdie on 18 for his fourth straight age-group title in the city. Hosking would have been the first player to win back-to-back titles since Ryan Roscoe won three in a row, the last coming in 1991.

Goss has had a busy week on the course, playing two rounds of the Country Club of Terre Haute championship, a Mountain Dew event and three days of the city. He will be in a boys state qualifier today at Harrison Hills and play the final round of the club championship Saturday.

Goss will be a sophomore at South. He opened the tourney with 69 and followed it with 77 at Hulman Links, finishing with 214.

“I had a bad hole at Hulman Links and let it bother me,” he said.

Brandon Bekkering, who will be a sophomore at South Vermillion, had the second-best round Thursday with 69 and finished third with 223 followed by Jackson Jarvis and Shelby Stewart at 226 and James Stewart at 230.

Bekkering also will be in the boys state qualifier today. He, Goss and Hosking all compete on the Mountain Dew Tour.

Ryan Turner of Northview won the first flight with 238, edging Terre Haute North’s Will Pollock, who had 70 in the last round for a 239.

Engle had a one-shot lead over Fuqua going into the final round and they were deadlocked at 246 after 18 holes. Both players had pars on the first two extra holes before Engle sank about a 20-foot putt to win on the third hole.

Engle, who will be a junior at South, competed in the 15-17 division for the first time. She took 13-14 honors last year.

She said her coach, Cara Stuckey, watched the action.

“All three of us [Engle, Fuqua and Katelyn Gosnell] had a great tourney. I think we can be a team to be reckoned with this year,” said Engle.

Gosnell shot 248 to place third in the 15-17 division.

Mary Roberts won the first flight.

Rachel Welker won her third age-group title in four appearances, taking 13-14 honors with 253, shooting 83 twice at Rea Park.

She also has been busy and will be busy. She’ll compete in the high jump and pole vault in a national track championship meet next week and has qualified for the championship round of her age group on the Mountain Dew Tour, ranking first in points.

She will be a freshman at Terre Haute North and will be playing golf for coach Abe Nasser Jr.

Sam Pollock, who will be in the eighth grade at St. Patrick’s, had 72 in the final round and won the boys 13-14 title by 16 shots. Sam Kigin shot 75 in the final round to take second with Ryan Bahr third.

Jarom Hutsom had two rounds of 37 and finished with a 36 for 110 to win the boys 11-12 title and Nathan Pirtle won his third age-group title with two 37s and a 38 for 112 for first in the boys 11-12 division. He ranks first in his division of the Pepsi Tour.

Hutson earlier won his division in the Rea Park Junior Classic and also took second in an event at Peoria, Ill., and was fifth in a world championship qualifier in Indianapolis. He took up golf about a year after watching Tiger Woods in the U.S. Open.

        

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