Carson's Singer wins regional golf title

WASHOE VALLEY " It was a bittersweet Tuesday for Carson High's golf team.

The good news is that senior Jonathan Singer won the individual title with a 36-hole total of 150 at Thunder Canyon Country Club. The bad news is that Carson finished third again and won't advance to next week's state tournament at Red Hawk.

Carson finished with a two-day total of 826, well behind Spanish Springs and Bishop Manogue, both of whom shot 802. Bishop Manogue was declared the winner based on having a lower score from its sixth player.

"I'm very happy for Jon," Carson coach Terry Gingell said. "He played very steady both days. He had a shaky start, but settled down after the fifth hole. He deserves it.

"I thought we played pretty well. A couple of the boys are disappointed. We played pretty strong. It was a solid performance."

Singer, who followed up a level-par 72 Monday with a 78, finished five strokes ahead of Thomas Wicker of Douglas, who shot rounds of 77 and 78. Spanish Springs' Ren Wilson and Bishop Manogue's Donald Carano tied for third at 157, but Wilson won the tiebreaker. Manogue's Jordan Anderson and Spanish Springs' tied for fifth at 158 with Anderson winning the tiebreaker.

Singer was happy to come away with the individual title, and admitted that he may have had a slight advantage because he's a member at Thunder Canyon.

"It feels pretty good to win it," Singer said. "I had a feeling a couple of weeks ago that I would play well. There were so many great golfers out here. Whoever came in best prepared was going to win it. I'm happy with the way I played.

"It wasn't a huge advantage. I don't know if it was a five -stroke advantage. You still have to execute. I know Thomas (Wicker) has played here 10 or 12 times. The biggest edge is knowing the breaks of the greens. That's pretty big."

Singer started the day in shaky fashion, bogeying No. 1, 4 and 5. The first two bogeys were on Rapalas, which Singer normally handles with ease. He attributed the slow start to some nervousness.

"When you start the second day as the leader, there is a certain amount of nerves; a lot of blood flow," Singer said. "The first shot (off the tee) I felt I hit good but got a bad lie."

Singer's approach was short, and he chose to play delicate wedge. He left that short and two-putted for the bogey.

On No. 4, he left his third shot short again, chipped to 8 feet and missed his par putt.

After a par at No. 5, Singer finished par-par-birdie-par for a 2-over 38. On No. 8, Singer sank a 10-footer.

Singer dropped two shots to par at the par-5 10th, but bounced back with three straight pars. He bogeyed the 410-yard par-4 14th, but came back with a nice birdie at 15. He also saved a bogey on No. 16 with a nice putt. He bogeyed the par-3 17th, but came back with a par on the finishing hole.

Ryan Livermore finished tied for 18th at 167 (84-83), Jayson Davis shot a second consecutive 84 to finish 23rd with a 168, Garrett Gingell was next at 170 (87-83) and Jordan Rogers shot 171 (85-86).

Livermore birdie No. 1 and 10, sinking putts of 10 and 7 feet, respectively. Livermore was only 4-over through 14, but was 7-over-par on the final four holes, including a triple-bogey 7 on No. 18.

"I shot 38 on the front, and I was really happy with that," Livermore said.

Davis chipped in from 40 yards for birdie on No. 4, but also had four bogeys and went out in 39. He played solid on the back until No. 18 when he hit two out of bounds off the tee, topped a third tee shot, chunked his next shot, reached the green and two putted.

"It was going real well until the last two holes," Davis said. "I was hitting the ball well and putting good."

While Davis was disappointed, Wicker was even more so.

The Douglas junior actually cut Singer's lead to one stroke after starting out the first five holes in 1-under-par. He birdied the opening hole, hitting a 5-iron to the back of the 563-yard par-5 and two-putting from about 30 feet.

Wicker played the final five holes on the front in 5-over-par. The key hole was the 176-yard par-3 6th where he took a double-bogey and then bogeyed out from there for a 40, which left him seven shots off the lead with nine to play.

A nice birdie coupled with Singer's triple, shaved the lead to three strokes. He gave s a stroke back with a bogey at the par-4 344-yard 11th to fall four behind. He got it back to a three-stroke deficit with a par at No. 14, but he never was able to get any closer. Wicker finished with a 78, matching Singer.

"I didn't play very well," Wicker said. "I started off pretty well. I showed some bad judgment. I also hit some shots like I wanted, but they didn't end up like I thought they would."