By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
T.R. Miller Tigers sophomore golfer Tripp Owens earned his second straight trip to the state tournament Thursday with a second place finish at the Class 3A Section 1 Tournament held at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.
Owens shot an even par 72, which tied him with Montgomery Academy's Hunter Hamrick for the runner-up spot. Both Owens and Hamrick finished one shot back of individual champ Walker Stinson of Montgomery Academy, who fired a one-under-par 71.
Montgomery Academy dominated the team competition, as it had four of the top five places and an overall team score of 299. Elba was a distant second at 331, while T.R. Miller came in third 20 shots farther back.
Montgomery Academy, Elba and T.R. Miller were the only three teams in the field that entered the minimum four players for a team score.
The Tigers played the Section Meet shorthanded, as both James Dixon and Brooks Fussell missed the meet due to illness.
"That left us with only four players so we had to count all four scores. Perhaps if we had been at full strength we might have been able to move up to that second and final team qualifying spot, but unfortunately both Brooks and James were ill," T.R. Miller coach Greg Ennis said.