Golfers hope to start season today

Fort Scott High School head golf coach Ken Klassen says that it's been good in the past few seasons to have a good, seasoned group of leaders on his team. The success of the Tiger program in the last few years is based, at least in part, on how the older players pass on their values to the younger ones.

"What you hope for over the years," Klassen says. "is that you have a nucleus of good players that help, through their own work ethic and knowledge of the game, teach the younger kids. That's an ongoing process that helps the maturation of the younger players and then they have success when they reach the varsity level."

Klassen once again appears to have a solid group with returning seniors Cole Murrin, Paul Norris and Dylan Renfro and juniors Tanner Beckham, Nolan Stark and Evan Heiser, who will be the six that open the season today at Independence -- weather permitting.

Murrin finished second in the Southeast Kansas League individual standings last season. Norris finished in fifth place and Renfro was 15th in the standings.

"I expect them to perform as well or better this season," Klassen said. "They worked hard over the summer and I expect for them to reap the harvest of that in the league and in Regionals."

Beckham finished in the to 30 in the league. Stark played in one varsity tournament and Heiser played in two.

"How we'll perform during the year (as a team) is a question mark," Klassen said. "When you lose a key member of the team (Chris Brown, who graduated), you count on your other players stepping up and performing well."

The "top six" are part of a group of 14 out for golf this season. The other two seniors are Andy Gant, who Klassen says will be the varsity alternate, and Kolby Allen, a first-year player.

Other players out include junior Zach White, who has playing experience from when he was at Jayhawk-Linn High School, juniors Blake Cowan and Grant Stucky, who are both new to the team, sophomores Jordan Neilson and Garrett Rash and freshman Lyle Brittain.

Klassen says he hasn't yet heard much about the league. Chanute broke the Tigers' two-year hold on the league team title last season and defending individual champion Jeremy Gant of Chanute returns.

"My expectations are always high," Klassen says. "Chanute will be powerful. They have a really good freshman coming on board and they lost no one. Having won the SEK last year, they have to be the favorites.

"I think our three top golfers should compete with anyone in the SEK. It's just a question of who can provide us with that fourth score that will allow us to be competitive in the league and then at Regionals."

Although the Tigers will, hopefully, be going to Independence today, this will not be a league tournament. They get to play there and then at another non-league tourney at Iola Tuesday before going to Pittsburg for the first of the four SEK designated tournaments on April 14.

"We're fortunate to have those couple of weeks of competition prior to the first SEK tournament," Klassen said. "We get to see ourselves at Indy, then come back and work before that first SEK event."

The other three league tournaments are April 23 at Parsons, April 11 at Chanute and a date between then and April 18 to be determined at Coffeyville. Fort Scott hosts a tournament on April 5.

Fort Scott will also host this year's Class 4A Regional Tournament on May 18.

After a month of practice, the players are ready to go. Indeed, it might be a bit disappointing if the weather didn't allow the Tigers to finally begin their season.

"I'm encouraged by how hard the kids have been working," Klassen said. "The weather has been rather miserable off and on. They've been troopers. They've come out and tried to work on different aspects of their games. The JV players are working hard to be ready when their time comes to compete. They're all fighting to earn those varsity spots. It's kinda neat to see the competition."