Nevada's Parker Rodgers, Gilbert's Ryan Lynch go 1-2 at the Iowa boys state golf meet
CEDAR FALLS — Nevada's Parker Rodgers and Gilbert's Ryan Lynch are officially the two best individual boys golfers in Class 3A.
Rodgers claimed the 3A boys state individual title and Lynch placed second during the IHSAA 3A boys state golf championship held May 27-28 at the Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls.
Rodgers became an individual champion a year after tying for third at state as a freshman. Last year Rodgers only got to play 18 holes at the Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames after the second day of the state meet was cancelled due to inclement weather.
This year, with two days of competition there was no stopping the Cub sophomore from achieving his dream of becoming a state champion. Rodgers shot an incredible 5 under 18-hole round of 67 on Day 1 to tie Solon's Isaiah Zoske for first, and then he finished with a 2 under round of 70 on Day 2 to card a 137 over 18 holes.
"I've been dreaming about this since I was a little kid, and I watched my cousins win it as a team," said Rodgers. "Little me would be so happy."
Zoske fell three strokes behind Rodgers after shooting a 1 over round of 73 on Day 2 to finish with a 140. That allowed Lynch, who came in one stroke behind the two leaders on Day 1, to move in second place after the Gilbert senior matched Rodgers with a 70 on Day 2.
Rodgers finished the state meet with nine birdies, 25 pars and just two eagles. He was red hot on Day 1, shooting five birdies and 13 pars, shooting 2 under on both par 4 and par 5 holes.
"He played yesterday (Day 1) really well on the front and had a lot of good birdie looks and was able to finish those and make some putts," said Nevada coach Michael Davidson. "It was just an all-around great round yesterday. He came out today with a little bit of nerves and kind of a shaky middle of the round, (but) finished very strong. I'm really proud of him."
On Day 2 Rodgers finished 2 under on par 5s again while finishing even on both par 3 and par 4 holes. He was 4 under over his last eight holes.
As well as he played, Rodgers still had to sweat it out as Lynch was finishing up.
"That felt like a day," Rodgers said. "I don't know how long it was, but it felt (like) forever. I'm just happy it's over."
Lynch finished the meet with 11 birdies, 20 pars and five bogeys. He was a combined 3 under on par 5 holes during the two days.
"As hard as he has worked all year we'll settle for that runner-up spot," said Gilbert coach Holly Lester. "He's probably shown in particular his senior teammates and the younger ones what hard work can do."
Lynch helped Gilbert shoot a 596 as a team to place third behind co-champions Waverly-Shell Rock and MOC-Floyd Valley, both of whom finished with a score of 588 over 36 holes.
"Team effort, we were a little bit disappointed yesterday, but as the team came together and they played very, very well," Lester said. "We had Brody Hague just on fire today as a senior that really made our day and made our third-place finish."
Gilbert shot under 300 both days to finish 20 over as a team. The Tigers finished with a 297 over the first 18 holes and a 299 on Day 2.
Gilbert was in fourth place after Day 1, but the Tigers beat Independence by four strokes on Day 2 to move into third. Independence finished with a score of 597.
Freshman Johnny Bouska gave Gilbert two top-10 individual finishers by tying for ninth individually with a 2 over score of 146. Bouska carded a 74 on Day 1, and he shaved two strokes off that score on Day 2.
Hudson White tied for 27th with a 10 over score of 154, Hague tied for 40th with a 158 after shooting a 76 on Day 2, Logan Youngberg tied for 59th with a 163 and Taylor Dukes tied for 69th with a 169 to round out the scoring for Gilbert.
Ballard placed fifth out of 12 teams with a 32 over score of 608. The Bombers shot a 310 on Day 1 and finished under 300 on Day 2 with a 298.
Senior Brenden Wright led Ballard by tying for 13th individually with a 5 over score of 149. Wright carded a 77 on Day one and took five strokes off that score on Day 2.
Freshman Jamin Colvin tied for 21st with a 7 over 151 and sophomore Parker Domino tied for 25th with a 9 over 153 for Ballard. Alex Weeks finished 11 over with a 155, Mason Gatchel 14 over with 158 and Riley Dingel 18 over with a 162 to complete the scoring for the Bombers.
Top 10 3A boys state golf individual scores (36 holes): 1. Parker Rodgers (Nevada) 67-70-137, 2. Ryan Lynch (Gilbert) 68-70-138, 3. Isaiah Zoske (Solon) 67-73-140, 4. (tie) Carson Gallup (Charles City) 72-71-143, Carson Korver (MOC-Floyd Valley) 75-68-143, 6. Luke Frazell (Waverly-Shell Rock) 73-71-144, 7. (tie) Tyler Gade (Waverly-Shell Rock) 71-74-145, Dawson Fuelling (Independence) 72-73-145, 9. (tie) Aidan Zirtzman (West Delaware) 73-73-146, Johnny Bouska (Gilbert 74-72-146.
Final 3A team scores (36 holes): 1. (tie) Waverly-Shell Rock 291-297-588, MOC-Floyd Valley 294-294-588, 3. Gilbert 297-299-596, 4. Independence 294-303-597, 5. Ballard 310-298-608, 6. Solon 303-306-609, 7. West Delaware 298-312-6-10. 8. Spencer 307-311-618, 9. Atlantic 314-320-634, 10. West Liberty 325-311-636, 11. Knoxville 324-314-638, 12. Webster City 322-332-654.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Parker Rodgers wins individual crown at Iowa boys state golf meet
