Senior Keagan Webster’s back-to-back birdies Thursday, March 3, led Sedona Red Rock High School to victory in its three-team opening match at Verde Santa Fe Golf Club.
Webster’s 33 on the course’s front nine holes, including a one-under-par on the second, sixth and seventh greens, helped the Scorpions win by more than 30 strokes over Northland Preparatory Academy and Bagdad High School.
“Luckily, the cupboard is not exactly bare,” 21st-year golf coach Dennis Mobley said after his first match since finishing third with Webster, junior Neil Smith and five seniors last spring at the Division III state championships. “As captain and the lone senior [on] this year’s team, Keagan was our No. 1 player last season in stroke average.”
Down the ladder, a new face emerged March 3: Sophomore transfer Seth Farmer, the No. 6 player as a freshman for Division I runner-up Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale. Farmer also birdied the second hole to finish one-under-par, a stroke better than his incoming average.
“Last summer, Seth missed making the cut in the Sedona Open … by only one stroke,” Mobley said. “Neil … is always located somewhere out on the golf course when school is not in session. He has a great work ethic.”
Like Smith and Webster, junior Stesiree Ho is playing for the next level in her first full season on varsity but will need to improve on the 10-over-par 45 she shot March 3.
“[She] is already extremely long off the tee and fairway,” Mobley said. “With improvement from her short game, we expect her scores to drop significantly this spring.”
Julian Travaglia, who also shot a 45, has the varsity experience to take the final spot but faces a battle with fellow sophomore Justin Wassell.
“Both are very athletic and we expect them to make important contributions this season,” added Mobley. “Julian, especially, has played a lot of golf in recent years and could be a major factor in how we score as a team this season.”
Freshmen Ty Jackson and Cody Kirkham round out the roster in their first year of golf.
