Golf: Watson finishes 2nd at Polson Invite

Libby High School senior Zach Watson missed winning his second straight tournament by just one stroke Thursday in Polson. Watson finished runner-up to Whitefish’s Reed Platke with a round of 72 at Polson Bay Golf Course.

The Loggers also got a top-10 finish on the girls’ side with Taylor Barton’s 97. Returning to the links after missing the Libby Invite, Barton’s score was good for eighth place.

In the team race, Libby’s boys finished seventh out of 10 teams. The girls did not have enough participants to qualify for a team score.

On Saturday at the Hamilton Invitational, Watson couldn’t find his stroke and finished out of the top 10 with a 90. Louis Cielak followed with a 93, Chris Campbell shot an even 100, Seth Volkenand finished at 106 and Andrew Smith had a 122.

Libby’s boys finished 11th out of 14 teams.

Barton placed eighth overall with a score of 100 on the course at Hamilton Golf Club. Candace Hendrickson came in with a 124, Sara Kristiansson finished at 127 and Chelsey Oedewaldt had a round of 132.

The girls finished with 483 team points to take sixth place out of the nine schools with full squads.

The Loggers were scheduled to compete again on Monday with a trip to Frenchtown. Results were not available before presstime. LHS next heads to the Northwest Divisional Golf Meet on Oct. 1. The Class A State Golf Meet follows on Oct. 9-10 in Kalispell.