Mosley's Humphrey nabs county medalist honors over Meeks

PANAMA CITY BEACH — In golf, teams’ top players are like a trusty butter knife you always can count on. Players bunched between two and four are like the butter. Sometimes the quality varies by the round.

Arnold’s Hudson Meeks and Mosley’s Taylor Murphy, both No. 1’s, staged an expected tight battle in Thursday’s Bay County championship match at Hombre Golf Club. Meeks edged Murphy by one stroke after the top performers played through a solid, but unspectacular 18 holes.

Mosley’s No. 3, Dalton Humphrey, strolled off the course about an hour later and took home medalist honors with a 75. He was two strokes better than Murphy and three ahead of Mosley’s No. 2, brother Dillon Humphrey. The Dolphins won the team title with a 308 to best Arnold (340), Bay (374) and Rutherford (436).

Arnold’s third golfer, Brandon Webb, and Rutherford’s fourth competitor, Neil Patel, also turned in scores lower than those ahead of them in the hierarchy. Though their totals of 80 and 107, respectively, didn’t do much damage in the standings, it helped their teams shave off strokes. Unexpected performances or slumps have a way of coming up big in tournament time.

Mosley assistant coach Rob Maddox said having a strong lineup that can pick a struggling player is vital to playoff success.

“It’s critical, that’s really the difference when you get into districts and regionals,” Maddox said. “You always have one you expect to be solid. The advantage we have is all five of our guys can shoot under par.”

Dalton Humphrey was the closest of any player to par at 3-over on the Bad and Ugly nines. His spread was three strokes over Meeks through nine holes with a 36. He held on to medalist honors with a 39 on the back side.

“I hit the ball pretty well, I could have saved a few shots but 75 is a good day,” Humphrey said. “It feels pretty good to be the county medalist.”

He agreed that Mosley’s depth helps it not only compete, but challenge for titles. Thursday proved to be another day of short work for the Dolphins, who make a habit of ruling county matches.

“It’s important to have depth, all of us are playing really well,” Humphrey said. “We do well around here, but we’ll have to do better in districts and regionals.”

Humphrey soured Meeks’ day. The Arnold senior shook Humphrey’s hand after the match and said earlier he had hopes his 76 would hold up. It didn’t.

 “I’ve never been more tired over a round of golf in my life,” Meeks said. “It’s just the mental side of this game.

“You play well one minute, then not well the next and you wonder why the heck you’re playing this game. It’s a fickle game, too.”

Meeks rebounded from two double bogeys with a 37 on the Ugly. He converted five one-putts on the final five holes, including two from beyond 45 feet.

“It was a good score for the day it was,” Meeks said. “It was nice to continue the rivalry (with Murphy). He’s gotten the better of me many times.”

Bay County championship results:

• Team: 1. Mosley 308, 2. Arnold 340, 3. Bay 374, 4. Rutherford 436

Individual scores (top four count toward total)

• Mosley: Dalton Humphrey 75, Taylor Murphy 77, Dillon Humphrey 78, Reed Maddox 78, Jeremy Senterfitt 82
• Arnold: Hudson Meeks 76, Brandon Webb 80, Kip Karani 89, Nick Frost 95, Erick Stein 98
• Bay: Sam McClane 81, Michael Fowler 91, Daniel Fowler 97, Sam Gramling 105
• Rutherford: Chris Walters 102, Joe Ernst 105, Neil Patel 107, Watson Finney 122, Nick Nelson 125