Jul. 13—Cooper Forth just graduated from Webb City High School in May. About two months later, he’s playing in the Ozark Amateur.
Forth teed off at 8:50 a.m. on Saturday at Schifferdecker Golf Course and walked off of the No. 18 green with an even par score of 71 that put him in first place overall.
“I was able to have some success today. I hit the ball pretty well,” Forth said. “It got pretty windy. Which, with wind, I think it’s always a little tougher to putt. You never know if it’s going to affect it at all or affect your stroke at all. But I did hit the ball pretty well.”
Forth birdied the 18th hole to claim that mark of 71 and a 35 on the back nine.
His lead held up until about 4 p.m. when another competitor finally finished under par. And in the last few hours there were a handful that came in with lower scores or at least tied with the 18-year-old from Webb City.
Forth will head into Sunday’s second round tied for sixth with Jordan Burks and Nathan Mueller.
“It’s fun. Seeing some guys in their 20’s and being able to compete with them, it’s fun,” Forth mentioned. “What could I do if I kept competing to win?”
Forth is also coming off a Class 4 state championship where he finished tied for sixth place this spring. He will be heading to Pittsburg State University for golf in the fall.
Jack Spencer leads the field after Day 1 with a 4-under 67. Spencer will be a senior at Carl Junction High School this fall. He’s followed by Brent Wilson at 69.
Max Templeman, who graduated from Carthage High School in 2023, is in third place with a 1-under 70. Templeman competed at Midwest Nazarene University last year. He’s tied for third with Erin Campbell and Taylor Lansford.
Lansford is a former Missouri Southern State University golfer.
The rest of Flight 1 for Sunday will be Austin Carter, Aiden White, Alexander Page, Carson Wampler, Fabian Oechsle, Andy Hogenmiller and Nate Neel after tying for ninth place at 72.
Templeman set a Day 1 low of 31 on the back nine, four strokes under par. Campbell had the low score on the front nine of 32, also four stroke under par.
FLIGHT 2
Flight 2 on Sunday will start with those who shot 73 on Saturday and caps at scores of 76.
Leading the pack will be a group of 11. Among them is David Pawlus who just won the Senior Ozark Amateur at the end of June. Pawlus talked about the play of the course throughout his 18 holes.
“It played pretty good. I had a double (bogey) on eight and got behind a tree and stymied, but, just couldn’t make a birdie putt today,” Pawlus said. “I made a lot of good par putts. You need to make some birdies out here to go low.”
Pawlus added that the course was in great condition and a “hats off” to the grounds crew.
He feels he should’ve made more putts but he’s given himself a chance to take home the crown in Flight 2 on Sunday. Others in the way will be Logan Lowry (73), Collin New (73), Austin Hafner (73), Mark Bruder (74), Doug Gaddis (74) and Fielding Campbell (76).
There are a total of 28 players in Flight 2 ranging from that 73-76 mark.
UP FROM DALLAS
Mike Goodwin and Zach Escabedo are in Joplin for the Ozark Amateur tournament from Dallas, Texas. They talked course conditions and how it had played for them after nine holes of play.
“The greens are slick and the wind has been affecting putts,” Goodwin said.
“It’s playing really tough. But the grounds crew did an awesome job after all that rain they got,” Escabedo added. “The greens are moving really fast. You have to be precise.”
Goodwin (82) and Escabedo (89) both noted that winds were intermittent at times. They felt it would be a little soft as you got onto the tee box to drive a ball and then you’d have gusts of much stronger wind as you got ready to swing the club.
Through nine holes, Goodwin shot 43 and improved on the back nine. Escabedo was at 46 after the front and improved on the back as well.
SKINS PLAY
A separate competition is the skins play and four players walked away with one point after Saturday.
You earn a “skin” by winning a hole over everyone else in the field. Four different players did that on Day 1.
New got a point with his eagle on No. 3. New was the only player to eagle that hole. Templeman’s eagle on No. 10 earned him a skin and Dylan Maberry eagled No. 18 to pick one up. Jordan Burks’ birdie on No. 8 was the final skin of the day.
Sunday will continue skins play with these four in the lead.
