Menu
Jackson golfer Ian Lambert earns All State honors
BOLIVAR – Sitting on the cusp of all-state status with three groups still to come in, Ian Lambert could only patiently sit and wait.
“It's pretty tough, but I feel confident right now,” the Jackson sophomore said. “It would feel good just knowing that I did it. I was close last year, but fell just short.”
Lambert did indeed become an all-stater with a top-15 finish, as he carded a two-day score of 74-75 for a total of 5-over-par 149 at the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 5 Boys Golf Championships on Monday and Tuesday at Silo Ridge Golf and Country Club.
That score was good enough to be part of a seven-way logjam for 11th place at 149 for Lambert, who won the Class 5 District 1 tourney last week.
“He's been pretty consistent for us all year long and had a pretty good season,” Indians coach Zack Walton said. “Winning districts, I think, builds your confidence coming into this thing. He was really consistent all weekend and had a really good tournament.”
Lambert carded a 153 last year to finish in a tie for 24th place and miss the all-state cut by just three strokes, so this year was better both in terms of score and place.
“I felt more confident just coming in here knowing that I could play good this year,” he said. “My putter was much better this year, so it just felt more solid. Putting definitely helped out a lot today and yesterday.”
Two other area players – Poplar Bluff junior Lawson Barks and his freshman teammate Corbin Thomas – also played in the Class 5 state tourney.
Barks had a two-day total of 78-77-155 to finish in a four-way tie for 37th place.
“Not too good. It could have went better,” he said. “But, I came out here and had fun. I made it again, so that's an advantage.”
Barks had a 169 and was in a tie for 65th at state last year, so he too saw an improvement this year.
“It was tough. Having a chance to be in contention the first day kind of backfired on him,” Mules coach Billy Pyland said. “Today he had a chance, but he made a few mistakes that cost him. But he played hard, grinded it out and made sure he still had a chance and not embarrass his family or his coach or himself.”
In his inaugural state appearance, Thomas shot an 86-82-168 to finish 77th in the 83-player field.
“It was a great experience. It's kind of fun that I made it,” he said. “It was fun not to be by myself and to have somebody that has the experience and can help you out a little bit.”
Pyland called Thomas “a very talented kid” that doesn't yet understand how good he really is.
“When you're a freshman, you think if you make a bogey, you've got to make a birdie after that,” Pyland said. “That's a good mindset, but not to be that aggressive. He needs to learn to take his medicine, make the bogey and not try to make a birdie out of a hard shot.”
The opening round of the Class 5 tournament featured a nearly four-hour weather delay in the middle of the afternoon. Lambert and Barks were already done with their rounds before the delay occurred.
“I was doing my scorecard right as one big strike of lightning hit, so thank God I got done,” Barks said.
Thomas wasn't quite as fortunate.
“I had one-and-a-half holes left,” he said. “I had a putt on 8. It was kind of tough. I feel bad for the people who had quite a few holes left.”
Tuesday's final round had no such delays with both Barks and Thomas posting slightly better scores than Monday and Lambert just one shot more than the first round.
“He's gonna miss a fairway here and there, but he's been able to find his way back into the fairway and, from there, he's a pretty good little player,” Walton said. “He was not rattled and didn't show nerves. He's a pretty confident player.”
The key for all three players now is to keep putting in the work in the offseason so they can all make it back to state next year with the goal of even better showings.
“The best thing for them is to play a lot more tournaments than they did this year to get that experience and that feel for the caliber of players,” Pyland said. “The schedule we play, they see it. But, the experience of tournament play has to be done in the offseason.”