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By Pat Dailey (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
BRANSON — Joplin’s Harry Satterlee followed up one of his worst shots of the COC Tournament with one of his best en route to claiming medalist honors.
Satterlee birdied the par-four, 425-yard No. 18 hole to finish with a three-over par 73 that put him alone in first place by a single stroke.
Satterlee found himself behind a couple trees after his tee shot on 18 sailed left of the fairway. No matter, his approach shot landed on the green and rolled to within five feet of the hole.
“I could barely see the flag and was behind a couple trees,” Satterlee said. “I knew I could hit a hook. I hit a five-iron hook and tried to get it up close to the green and it worked out.”
All along, he didn’t allow himself to be frustrated by not landing his tee shot on the fairway and was confident he could hook his approach around the trees.
“Be confident in the shot you’re going to hit,” Satterlee said.
Satterlee repeated as COC champion by posting a 38 on the front nine and a 35 on the back nine.
“It was kind of a rough start,” he said. “My putter was letting me down at the beginning. But I started gaining a little confidence in it on hole No. 8 when I made a birdie.
“I knew I could go low on the back nine,” he added. “I hit a lot of five- to seven-foot range putts that boosted a lot of confidence in my mental game.”
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It was the first time he played Pointe Royale.
“It’s a tough course,” Satterlee said. “I was scrambling today. You’ve got to be straight off the tee and the greens are a little tricky. It’s a fun course to play.”
Shooting a 74 and finishing in a tie for second place were Satterlee’s brother, Wyatt, and Nixa’s Noah Naugle.
Wyatt carded a 34 on the front nine and a 40 on the back nine and Naugle posted a 38 and 36.
Naugle made a charge early on over his back nine with birdies on holes 10, 13 and 14.
Naugle helped Nixa to the team title. The Eagles totaled a 307. In addition to Naugle’s 74, Chandler Burch shot a 74 and Johnathan Miller and Jordan Hatman both came in with 79s.
Per usual, Nixa coach Jeff Lotz drew the names of his five players out of a hat to determine who would play at Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
“It’s interesting, that’s for sure,” said Naugle, who played in the No. 2 grouping. “You’ll play one day with a kid who shoots a 100 and the next day you’ll play with the best players of the tournament. I like how we do it.”
“I don’t care who I play with. I’m going to go out and shoot the same scores,” Burch said. “I tried to come through for the team and help in any way I can.”
Burch’s 75 put him in a tie for fourth place with Branson’s Ben Presley.
Ozark was second in the team standings with a 317 and Joplin third with a 318.
COC Tournament
Individual Top 10
1. Harry Saterlee, Joplin 73; 2. (tie) Noah Naugle, Nixa and Wyatt Satterlee, Joplin 74; 4. (tie) Chandler Burch, Nixa and Ben Presley, Branson 75; 6. Carter Chronister, Ozark 76; 7. CJ Jackson, Ozark 77; 8. (tie) Griffin Frey, Republic; Braxten Cahoon, Webb City and Jack Spencer, Carl Junction 78.
Team Standings
1. Nixa 307, 2. Ozark 317, 3. Joplin 318, 4. Webb City 327, 5. Carl Junction 332, 6. Carthage 336, 7. Republic 343, 8. Willard 356, 9. Branson 363, 10. Neosho 370.
