This weekend, Texarkana Country Club hosted the second annual Arkansas State Four-Ball Tournament. The tournament was put on by the Arkansas State Golf Association and included 36 holes. Among many participants was Texas High’s very own boys golf team and one member of the girl’s team. 

This unique style of tournament permits each player to have a partner. Both players hit their own shot, and after the hole is finished, the two-player team will take the lowest score. On Saturday, a storm resulted in a rain delay and eventual cancellation of play for day one. All of the girls groups had finished play, but the boys division was less lucky.

“The rain came at a really inconvenient time for me because I had an 8 foot eagle putt on hole 17,” senior Graci Henard said. “Having to wait and dwell on the putt made it even more nerve wracking, but I was thankful that we got to finish our full 18 holes.”

Because the thunderstorm resulted in incomplete rounds for the boys division, they had to resume play on Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m. to finish the first 18, then play the next round. 

After the first 18 in the boys division, the top three teams on the leaderboard consisted of all Texas High players, with junior Jack Wilson and Jackson Patterson leading at nine under. Senior Graci Henard and her teammate Grace Kilcrease were leading the girls division after the first round at one under.

Henard and Kilcrease got off to a fast start with two birdies on the first two holes proving their determination to win. They finished the second 18 shooting 69, making them four under for the total score. Henard and Kilcrease won first place by four shots in the girls division.

The three teams representing Texas High were all playing well, showing no signs of nerves despite the pressure of playing on their home course. After the second round had concluded, something unexpected happened: all three teams were tied at 12 under overall. 

The three-way-tie resulted in a sudden death playoff. On the first playoff hole, team Wilson/Patterson bogeyed, leaving only two teams. Sophomores John Patterson and Thomas Curry were against seniors Camden Robertson and Carter Maneth. The playoff lasted four holes, with team Maneth/Robertson coming out on top with a birdie. 

“I have confidence in my putting, it hasn’t been very good all year,” Robertson said. “[In] this tournament, when the pressure was on, I made some good strokes and really got the job done when needed which helped my mental game on putting tremendously.”

This tournament is not a part of the UIL high school events, but is a tournament open to students from all schools in Arkansas and Texas. Despite this, it proved to have a positive effect on the players since they play the District tournament this coming week.

“I feel like with how good everyone played in the 4 ball we have lots of confidence coming [to district],” John Patterson said. “We’re all feeling very confident about our game and believe in each other.”

The District tournament will be held at Tempest Golf Club. The boys team will compete on March 29-30 and the girls team will play March 31-April 1. Both teams have high hopes going into the tournament.