Anderson birdies final hole to boost Durango

HENDERSON -- High scores and high drama were the story Wednesday afternoon at the 4A Southern Zone boys golf tournament.

Played at the new -- and challenging -- Anthem Country Club in Henderson, totals soared due to deep bunkers, undulating greens and windy conditions. Defending zone champion Durango captured the team title, defeating last year's state champ, Green Valley, by a single stroke, 395-396.

Bonanza (413) and Bishop Gorman (419), which edged Silverado on the strength of its sixth golfer, finished third and fourth respectively and also qualified for next week's state tournament at Hidden Valley Country Club in Reno.

"Under these circumstances and on this golf course, I'm happy with our performance," said Durango coach Jim Allen, whose team remained undefeated. "It's a fair course, but it's extremely difficult."

With Green Valley holding a two-shot lead, the Gators' Joey Matyas and Durango's Justin Anderson decided the team title on the final hole. Anderson reached the 558-yard par-5 in two and two-putted for a birdie. Matyas pushed his second shot into a fairway bunker and ended up double-bogeying the hole.

"I thought we already had (the team title) won," said Anderson, who was unaware of the importance of his birdie on No. 18. "I was playing for the individual title."

As it turned out, Anderson's 76 was one shot shy of low-medalist honors. Green Valley sophomore Drew Scott, propelled by a chip-in eagle on No. 18, fired a 3-over 75 to take the individual title.

"I was in the rough around the green and I chipped it up," said Scott, who finished a stroke ahead of Anderson, Chad Fosburg (Durango) and teammate Mark Robbins. "It was right on line and it went in."

Fosburg, medalist at last year's zone tournament as a freshman, won a playoff for second place. Robbins finished third, Anderson fourth and Corey Baird, who fired a 78 for Green Valley, won a playoff for fifth.

A triple-bogey on the par-4 hole 7 hurt Fosburg's chances of repeating, but the sweet-swinging lefty was more concerned with team goals following his up-and-down round.

"(Winning the tournament) means a lot to the team," he said. "It gives us a really good perspective of what we need to do at state."

Six golfers from non-qualifying teams will also participate in the 36-hole state tournament: Brad Callihan (Silverado, 81), Derek Ashworth (Silverado, 82), Ryan Miller (Cimarron-Memorial, 82), Cody Clonts (Silverado, 83), Dennis Hogan (Palo Verde, 84) and Russell Riccardelli (Palo Verde, 84).

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