Brown, Taylor drive Sidney golfers to top three at Ogallala

Brendon Brown had a ready explanation for his team-leading round of 74 after Thursday’s Ogallala Invite.

“I was just hitting everything straight,” he said.

The score put him third on the leaderboard, a stroke ahead of teammate Taylor Barton’s 75. With the addition of Ryan Birner’s solid 89, the Raiders secured the third slot out of 14 teams.

Brown recorded three birdies and ten pars by shooting on a line, though his birdie on 17 may have been the most important.

The back nine was on the verge of tripping up Sidney’s number two. He bogeyed 12, recovered with a par then dropped strokes again on 14 and 15, a shot sailing into a bunker off the slight left hand kink doing the damage.

He managed a par on the following hole, but had surrendered three strokes before setting up on the 17th tee, a par four with a dogleg right.

“I hit a really good drive and a great chip,” he said, summarizing the hole.

The short iron shot stopped five feet from the pin—an easy finish. Brown saved par and wrapped up the round by sinking a daring 15 foot downhill putt on the 18th.

“I was just thinking ‘get it as close as possible,’” he explained.

Meanwhile Barton played with his usual drama-free consistency. The Raiders veteran lost a stroke on the first hole, but quickly gained it back. He fired one over on the front nine and suffered only a momentary lapse after rounding the corner—a 6 on the 15th hole, after hooking his drive out of bounds.

Unfazed, Barton recovered for a bogey.

“I didn’t have any really bad holes, like in Chadron or Gering”—a relative statement from the Raider known for his calm and steady play.

“That’s just Taylor,” Sidney coach Chuck Christensen explained. “He doesn’t make mistakes.”

Birner’s 42-47 round put him third on the team chart, though the back nine proved a bit daunting for the young golfer.

“It’s a lot longer,” he pointed out.

Indeed, the inbound holes measure almost 450 yards longer than the front. And the 468 yard 18th, with it’s vicious dogleg, is particularly challenging for short iron specialists.

“A lot of people talk about cutting the corner,” Birner said. “I can’t.”

Brady Radcliffe recorded a solid round of 91, shaving three strokes off his 47 first nine score. Garrett Wamsley struggled, chalking a 114. He is convinced, however, he will slash up to 20 off that mark in the next outing.

He won’t have long to wait. Sidney takes part in the Kimball Invite on Friday, May 10.

Team Scores (top 5)

McCook 309

Scottsbluff 312

Sidney 329

Cozad 350

Alliance 355

Individual (top 5)

Mack Alspaugh, McCook 71

Andrew Holloway, Scottsbluff 72

Brendon Brown, Sidney 74

Taylor Barton, Sidney, 75

James Mitnik, McCook 75

Sidney Results

Brendon Brown 74

Taylor Barton 75

Ryan Birner 89

Brady Radcliffe 91

Garrett Wamsley 114