McDaniel takes first at Missoula Invitational

Polson golf standout Carson McDaniel is the type of golfer that Pirates coach Bill Owen said responds to challenges.

In his final season, the senior golfer is being challenged. McDaniel is not only being pushed by his own teammates for the No. 1 spot he secured last year as a junior but the Pirates now have more competition in their attempt to try to best last season’s second place finish at the Class A state tournament. The Hamilton Broncs team captured the title.

The Pirates will now face the Libby Loggers, a team that moved from Class B to Class A this season, and their No. 1 golfer Ryggs Johnston. Johnston, who is already verbally committed to play golf at Arizona State, which is current PGA golfer Phil Mickelson’s alma mater, just recently set an all-time course record at the Whitefish Invitational Golf Club, firing a 61.

“Ryggs is just a special player,” McDaniel said. “As a team, I feel that our team can stay ahead of Libby but competing as individuals, it’s going to be tough to beat him. I am just going have to keep improving my game, stay steady, hope he has an off day or two at state and try to get past him.”

McDaniel responded by firing a 145 (70-75) to capture first place in a tournament that featured several double-A schools. McDaniel ended up being the Pirates first-ever male champion to capture the Missoula Invitational at Canyon River Golf Course.

“In Missoula, I just had to stay on the fairway and avoid the trees,” McDaniel said. “I stayed out of hitting the ball near the trees and it didn’t hurt me. I didn’t have one double bogey on the day and I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have a double bogey on that course. I just tried to limit my mistakes. My game is coming around and it really showed in how I played at the Missoula Country Club.”

At the Aug. 14 competition at Highland, Pirates’ golfer Matt Hobbs and Carson McDaniel were so close-knit all the way through the course that a tie-breaker determined the four-way tie between the two Polson golfers, Hamilton’s golfer Tristan Hanson and Zel Frost from Stevensville.

At Whitefish, McDaniel, Hobbs, and Trey Kelley all were in the top 10 and within four strokes of each other. The trio finished fourth, fifth and sixth at the tournament. McDaniel fired a 75, Hobbs shot a 76 and Kelley shot a 79. The trio came within four or less strokes of each other.

Not to be outdone by his competition, McDaniel made the decision to defeat everyone and fired a 70-75 to defeat a field that included double A schools. Polson edged Sentinel’s Jack Johnston by three strokes to secure the victory.

Pirates golf coach Bill Owen isn’t surprised.

“Carson responds really well to being tested and I think it has helped him to golf at his best,” Owen said. “He has some really stiff competition on his own team and with Libby and Ronan reentering the conference, golf has become a lot more competitive, even at the divisional level. Carson has responded really well to the test. His scores have even come down from where they were last year. Last year, he was golfing really well and I am excited about the way he is playing.”

Owen said there are a lot of competitive dynamics within his own team and said his team is “handling it well” as they continue to focus on overhauling a fiercely competitive field with aspirations of besting last season’s second place finish.

“They are all competitors and they really don’t want to give ground to each other,” Owen said. “As long as they stay focused on the team aspect, bond and work together, I am pretty excited about their chances.”

The competition for the number one, two and three spots aren’t the only spots that are up for grabs. There are three golfers legitimately vying for the coveted four and five spot on the team including Kelvin Nowlen, Colby Delvin and Hogan Kelley.

“All of my players are all working hard and they are all improving,” Owen said. “That is the kind of atmosphere you want. I really feel good about where we can end up team wise. I have players working hard to improve and they are all showing up to practice on time. The rest of the players care about how the rest of the team is doing and handle the competitive aspect of it really well. I think they have a real team and team goals are as important to them as individual accomplishments are.”

McDaniel concurred with his coach’s assessment of the work the boys team is putting in. Determined to make it back to the state level, the Pirates don’t want to be denied in their quest to add to their team’s long-standing tradition of state contenders.

“The team is really, really happy with the work the other two have put in in the summer.” McDaniel said. “They’ve dedicated more time to golf in the summer. They are starting to come around and during divisional and state, we all have a lot of depth. I think our team handles it well. I just hope that we keep the right mind set and not try too hard because in golf when you try too hard, that is when bad things happen.”

McDaniel said he likes the battle going on between the other golfers on the team as they continue to fight for the four and five spot.

“There is a mini-battle and at the fourth spot, Hogan is really coming around,” McDaniel said. “The competition is really nice, especially when you want to win your senior year. Last year, some of our best four and five golfers graduated. It’s nice to see others that have risen up to replace the graduating seniors from last year’s squad.”