Burkholder closes out senior year with medal

Resting his sore left knee in a golf cart next to the Class 4 state tournament leaderboard, Smith-Cotton’s Jacob Burkholder patiently waited as one by one, the final-round scores at the Class 4 state golf tournament trickled in on Tuesday at Sedalia County Club.

Recuperating from a torn meniscus in his left knee, the hobbled senior was unlike any of his competitors. Not anxious, worried or stressed about the implications of the tight race for medal contention, the 6-foot-1 slender athlete chatted with his family and a few Sedalia natives during the break, every once in a while checking on the leaderboard for an update.

In his final swan song, the senior had done his job. Playing smart, under-control golf, he hit eight of the 12 fairways off the tee and was 10 for 18 in finding the green on his approach shots. The robotic-like consistency led to 14 pars and a round of 75, good for a two-day total of 151 after opening with a 76 on Monday.

The question, though, was whether it would it hold up for a top-15 finish and a medal.

The tough pin placements, wet fairways and thick rough made for high scores, and by a stroke, Burkholder medaled in a tie for 13th place.

“It feels good,” Burkholder said. “I’ve accomplished a lot of things this year and it feels good to stick out. I’m pretty proud of myself and very fortunate. This is validation. I knew I could do it and it feels good to come through for once.”

Disappointment has followed Burkholder and a high school career that was always on the cusp of breaking out. He shot a two-day total of 176, good for 96th, at state his freshman year but failed to qualify for the tournament his sophomore and junior seasons. But those letdowns made this accomplishment that much sweeter for Burkholder and his coach.

“I’m glad for him because he has suffered a lot as far as not making it to state after his freshman year,” Smith-Cotton coach B.J. Curry said. “And it’s been only a hole here and a hole there at districts. Yeah, it’s just nice to see him get the success that’s escaped him in the past.”

The senior finished eight strokes behind Ryan Buerk, of Blue Springs, who earned top medalist honors with a second-day, even-par 70 for a two-day total of 143 to edge out Kyle Weldon, of Parkway South, by a stroke.

Unlike Buerk, who’s bound for Missouri State University to play golf next year, Burkholder isn’t sure if he’ll play golf at the collegiate level. Attending the University of Missouri next fall, he’ll attempt to earn a walk-on spot on the Tigers’ golf team. But if that doesn’t pan out, he’ll settle for playing the game recreationally.

“I’ll try to go to Mizzou and try to play golf,” he said. “I hope that I can get that done, but if not, it’s been a great run and I will stay and watch because I love the game and I’ll never give it up.”