Meyer Lively exchanges about as firm a handshake as one will receive on the links. Moreover, the Nixa senior showed exceptionally strong determination Thursday at the Ozark Invitational.
Lively didn’t let a quadruple bogey nine on the par-5, 480-yard No. 11 hole at Fremont Hills County Club dictate his round. He bounced back to record a three-over 74 that put him fifth among the medalists.
“I could go out and play (No. 11) 10 more times and not come close to (a nine) again. If I par it, I make 70,” Likely said. “You look back and look at the shots you left out there, but what can you do. That's golf.”
No. 11 is a fairly reachable par-5, but certainly no gimme. With a ditch splitting the fairway, along with a creek and pond also in play, it offers quite a risk/reward scenario.
Lively lost a ball off the tee box and another ball on his approach to the green.
“And, I three-putted,” he said. “I made a good mess of the hole.”
Not deterred, Lively closed strong.
“After my nine, I went on a hot streak,” Lively said. “I kind of put that hole behind me and had some nice holes. Maybe it lit a fire under my rear. I didn't quit.
“I wasn’t particularly great off the tee today, but generally I putted okay,” he added. “I made some nice putts. That kept me in it.”
Lively was joined in the top 10 by teammate Jackson McRoberts, who shot a 75.
McRoberts acclimated himself well to the blustery conditions that included gusts up to 30 mph.
“I'm satisfied with a 75. To break 80 today was a decent score,” McRoberts said. “I kind of like playing in the wind. I learned golf from my Dad and he grew up in Texas. He taught me how to hit low shots. I try to hit low into the wind.”
In contrast, McRoberts had plenty of loft on his ball with the wind at his back.
“The shots that were downwind, I would hit the ball decently high and the wind would take it,” he said.
Ozark’s Ryan Franklin tied for seventh with a 76. His round was highlighted by a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-four, 343-yard No. 1.
“I had a couple rough holes. Other than that, I played well,” he said.
A freshman, Franklin has topped the Tigers their last three times out. He carded a 69 at the Springfield Invitational at Millwood Golf Club earlier this week and was low medalist with a 35 during a triangular against Nixa and Branson at Pointe Royale Golf Course last week.
“It's fun having a team,” Franklin said of his first high school season. “Golf is such an individual sport. I didn't know what to expect about that going in. But it's been better than I thought.”
Ozark’s Boston Huddleston was ninth with a 77.
“It was a rough day with the wind. it made you feel like a gorilla, big and strong on some holes (downwind), and a mouse on the other ones against the wind,” Huddleston said. “Knowing the conditions, I had an expectation of what I wanted to shoot and I met my goal.
“My score doesn't show how badly I actually played,” he added. “My putter was lights out. I had some great par saves.”
He posted a birdie on the par-five, 503-yard No. 13, after making a bid for an eagle.
"I had a great drive off the tee that left me with a seven-iron (approach shot),” Huddleston said. “I put it on the green. I had a 25-footer for eagle and put it close enough to have a tap-in birdie. That was nice.”
Nixa was second in the team standings with a 311, while Ozark was tied for third with a 313.
The Eagles’ total also included 81s by Peyton Burbridge and William Johnston and an 83 by Dawson Huff.
The Tigers’ total also included 80s from CJ Jackson and Kyle Fitzpatrick and an 85 by Luke Jenkins.
