Carr riding game to state; Berryville places fifth in district match

Carr was nine shots off the pace, a 79 turned in by Ozark's John Edjin.

After the picturesque round, Carr said he didn't leave any strokes on the course.

"It was tough, especially with the wind," Carr said. "It was tough to get up and down. An 88 is not the best but I will take it. The greens were really fast and you don't want to get in the thick stuff because it's really hard to get out of."

Carr fulfilled his goal of advancing to the 4A state tournament after reaching that level as a sophomore.

"Im happy about it," Car said. "Making it to state is a big award, especially in this district because there are some really good golfers. It's an honor to represent my community."

Carr found himself in bogey position for most of the day but rallied for a pair of birdies. He penciled in a three on the Par-4 10th and mimicked that score two holes later on the Par-4 12th. But it was a par save on his second hole of the day, No. 1, that turned out to be the difference in making his second-straight state appearance.

After hitting his tee shot right of the fairway and into thick cover, Carr managed to muscle his second shot to the green, where he two-putted for par.

"That was a big save," Carr admitted. "I hit a good second shot and made par after being in the thick stuff. I was thinking five or six. And it was only the second hole...but still. It was hard to save par on lots of these holes. One bad shot and you are pretty much out of the hole."

Carr said he didn't think the score he signed for was going to be good enough to prevent Tuesday's round from being his last as a junior.

"I didn't think I would make it," he said. "I was hoping for 83 or 84...but it was good enough."

As a team, Berryville finished fifth out of eight teams with a total of 296. Chandler Mann followed Carr with a 98, Austin Lehr carded a 110 and Jarred Osnes finished at 151. McKenna Hussey fired a 121 and was the lone Lady Bobcat as Lauren Saab sat out with back pain.

"We got a round of golf in today and I thought our kids competed well," Compton said. "Fifth out of eight teams and we were close to fourth. It was tough out there today for every player. It was windy and nerves set in on everybody. We would like to have finished better but that's how it is."

Pea Ridge won the team title with a 250, followed by Ozark at 258, Farmington at 265 and Lincoln with 292. The Bobcats were one stroke better than Prairie Grove's 297, a squad Berryville lost to by 20 strokes last week.

"We made improvements throughout the season," Berryville coach Brent Compton said. "We knew today was going to be tough. We knew there were going to be some good teams here. Thankfully Austin (Carr) did make it into the state tournament. That's a bright spot."

Compton said Carr continues to build a quality resume as he prepares from his senior campaign.

"He competed well as a sophomore," Compton said. "He's just a junior. He's got a chance to compete well down there and hopefully build on that for his senior year. Hopefully, our team does as well."