Central's Kobe Franklin takes top spot at SEMO Conference golf tournament

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Kobe Franklin stepped up to the tee box on No. 3, the 17th hole in his round Monday afternoon at Fox Haven Country Club, took a deep breathe and knew exactly what he had to do.

The Central junior had just left a 4-foot birdie putt short on the second green and watched Sikeston's Gabe Wheeler, the medalist at last week's Jackson Invitational, sink a nearly identical birdie putt to cut Franklin's lead to one stroke.

It was a familiar situation for Franklin, who had lost a three-stroke lead over the final five holes in a previous high school tournament.

"I had the same feeling in a tournament a couple years ago where I kind of let a lead slip away," Franklin said. "I was at 3-under through 15 holes in that one and finished up 1-over. So I felt that again today, only this time it was Gabe Wheeler, who I knew could really make me pay if I didn't finish up some putts and at least par out. I was just thinking, 'I gotta do something different to finish this one out. I just gotta make par and hope he doesn't get better than that.'"

The logic worked for Franklin, who made par on No. 3, a par 5, and on No. 4, a par 3, to claim medalist with a 1-under-par 70 at the SEMO Conference Tournament.

With the two-shot win, Franklin kept the conference medalist honor with the Tigers for a third straight year. Central graduate Travis Simmons, one of Franklin's closest friends, took home the conference honors the previous two years.

"It's what you work for," Franklin said. "I haven't really made par in any other tournaments [this season], so I knew I had a challenge ahead of me. It's great to keep it at home and keep the medal in our area because me and Travis play together all the time, so for us to have it three years in a row is not only a big boost for us as a team but for our school, too."

Wheeler, meanwhile, put his third shot into a greenside sand trap on No. 3 and bogeyed before finishing with a par on the fourth hole. He shot a 1-over par 72 to finish second.

"That was a make-or-break shot for me," Wheeler said about his approach shot on the third green. "It was a difficult shot, but I don't really have any regrets on it. That's just how the game goes."

Franklin's teammate Luke Kinder finished third with a 74, while Notre Dame junior Jack Litzelfelner was fourth at 75.

"The top two kids have kind of been taking care of themselves for most of the year," Central coach Garrett Pannier said about Franklin and Kinder. "They did what they do best, which was good to see."

Poplar Bluff defeated Notre Dame by 13 strokes to claim its first conference championship since 2010. The Mules' top four scores were 82 or less and totaled 320. Sikeston took third at 334, edging fourth-place Jackson, which finished at 336. Central took fifth with a score of 339, while Dexter rounded out the six-team field with a 380.

Franklin and Wheeler, along with Dexter's Ethan Stevens, began their day on the fifth hole and were within two strokes of each other through nine holes.

However, Franklin made back-to-back birdie putts on the par-3 13th and par-5 14th. He then made par on his next four holes and led the field at 3-under, three shots ahead of Wheeler, heading to No. 1.

Franklin's tee shot found the fairway on the par-4 hole, but he almost found deep trouble on the next shot. His approach soared well right of the green and bounced on a nearby cart path before a tree knocked it down about 25 feet from the green.

"That was probably a really lucky break for me. That might be it if that tree's not there," Franklin said.

His third shot landed about 10 feet short of the green, forcing a chip that ended about two inches short of the hole. He tapped in for bogey. Wheeler made par on No. 1 to climb within two shots, then birdied No. 2, a par 4, to pull within one stroke. But that was as close as Wheeler got.

"Right when I got on his heels, right when I got to him I made a little mistake on the par 5 (No. 3), and that was the difference between keeping myself out of first," Wheeler said.

Advance's Brian Whitson watches his drive on the first hole during the SEMO Conference Tournament Monday, April 27, 2015 in Sikeston, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Advance, in its third year as a program, claimed its first SEMO Conference small school division championship, finishing four strokes ahead of Caruthersville.

The Hornets' were led by junior Brian Whitson, who shot a 4-over-par 75 to earn medalist. He had three birdies and seven bogeys in his round.

"It was a great day on the green for me, and I really just can't believe me or my team is talking about winning right now," said Whitson while wearing a big smile on his face.

His third-year coach Neil Miles wasn't surprised by the feat of his No. 1 golfer, who started playing golf as an 8-year-old, and said he's been the most consistent golfer for the Hornets over the past three seasons.

"It was a very good but normal day for Brian," Miles said. "Brian's a guy that stays out of trouble. So if he gets a bad break, or bad luck he can always recover and stay away from the big numbers.

Large school division

Team -- 1. Poplar Bluff 320, 2. Notre Dame 333, 3. Sikeston 334, 4. Jackson 336, 5. Central 339, 6. Dexter 380

Individual -- Kobe Franklin (C) 70, Gabe Wheeler (S) 72, Luke Kinder (C) 74, Jack Litzelfelner (ND) 75, Nick Woolard (PB) 77, Ethan Stevens (D) 77, Hunter Asher (J) 78, Jonathan Bell (ND) 79, Nathan Woolard (PB) 80, Tyler Norton (PB) 81

Central -- Kobe Franklin 70, Luke Kinder 74, Kegan Bramlett 97, Christian Retter 98, Dustin Lindsey 104

Jackson -- Hunter Asher 78, Eli Pike 82, Caleb Likens 88, Ty LeGrand 88, Garrett Walker 92

Notre Dame -- Jack Litzelfelner 75, Jonathan Bell 79, Jon Renner 83, Lincoln Hunter 96, Trent Schumer withdrew due to injury

Small school division

Team -- 1. Advance 351, 2. Caruthersville 355, 3. Doniphan 387, 4. Kennett 400, 5. Saxony Lutheran 401, 6. Malden 422, 7. Kelly 454, 8. Clearwater 464, 9. New Madrid County Central 467

Individual -- Brian Whitson (A) 75, KJ Lynch (CW) 79, Matt Rosson (D) 87, Nate Patillo (M) 88, Jonathan Montgomery (C) 89, Carson Miles (A) 90, Colin Byers (K) 90, Chris Crawford (K) 90, Grant Woodfin (A) 91, Graham Martin (C) 91

Advance -- Brian Whitson 75, Carson Miles 90, Grant Woodin 91, Spence Lorch 95

Kelly -- Jacob Riley 94, Ashton Beggs 107, Brandon Smith 126, Dylan Sander 127, Dustin Micah 149

Saxony -- Karsten Short 92, Anton Rhodes 99, Bryan Thurston 100, Ben Daniel 110, Drew Zieba 110