Union-Bulletin

WALLA WALLA - Consistency was Drew McCullough's strong suit Friday as he captured the Banner Bank Junior Invitational boys 15-17 age division golf championship at the Walla Walla Country Club.

The Richland youngster, who trailed by a shot after shooting a 1-over-par 75 during Thursday's opening round of play, followed up with a 3-over 75 on Friday and ruled the division by three strokes.

Zack Spencer of Mead, Wash., who finished alone in second place at 151, also shot 75 during Friday's play. But he began the day four shots off the pace after posting a 4-over-par 76 on Thursday.

Thursday's co-leaders, Ryan Baumgart of Walla Walla and Ryan Newcomb of Nine Mile Falls, Wash., struggled mightily during Friday's second and final round. After they each matched par-72 on Thursday, they registered identical scores of 80 on Friday and were among four players tied for third place at 152.

A pair of Lewiston golfers were the others in the third-place mix. Ben Gleason opened with a 78 and followed up with a 74 for his 152 total while Connor Hogan posted back-to-back 76s.

Walla Walla's Dean Atkinson finished in 16th place in the field of 27, shooting a pair of 79s for a 158 count that was 10 strokes off the winning pace. Another Walla Walla player, Nick Atwood, tied for the 20th spot as he followed up a first-round 78 with a second-day 87 for a 165 total.

In the boys 12-14 division, first-round leader Travis Kay of Ellensburg scorched the country club course for a 3-under-par 69 that was good for a 36-hole score of 143 and an eight-stroke victory. Kay's first-round 74 was two shots better than Joseph Baldeck of Clarkston, who finished second after a 76-75-151 effort.

Walla Walla's Scott Kimball shot 80 for the second straight day and finished alone in third place at 160 in a field of 11.

Nathan Towner of Walla Walla also fired an 80 Friday, 12 strokes better than his first-round 92, and he tied for sixth place at 172. And Riley Chester of Milton-Freewater scored 97 Friday for a 188 total and a 10th-place finish.

The boys 12-14 age division played the course at 5,682 yards compared to the 15-17 boys' yardage of 6,476.

In a hotly contested girls 15-17 division, Taylor Kain-Godoy of Richland edged Kaceelyn Pouttu of Kellogg, Idaho, by two shots for the championship. The two girls were deadlocked at 3-over-par 75 after the first round, but Kain-Godoy was able to improve by one shot Friday for a 149 total while Pouttu shot 76 to finish at 151.

Walla Walla's Jessica Huntsman remained in third place through the 36-hole tourney. Huntsman opened with a 77 and closed with a 79 for a 156 tally.

Kendall Dunovant of Walla Walla shot 102 Friday, a three-stroke improvement over Thursday's round, and finished 15th at 207.

Finally, in the six-girl 12-14 age group, Walla Walla's Emily Baumgart defended her 2011 Banner Bank title. Baumgart shot 83 Friday after a first-round 82 for a 165 score and a three-shot victory.

Kelly Hooper of Spokane carded an 81 Friday, the best round of the day and the tournament in her division. But a first-round 87 left her at 168 overall.

Both girls divisions played the course at 5,367 yards.

Banner Bank Junior Invitational

Friday's Results

At Walla Walla Country Club

Boys 15-17 Division

Drew McCullough, Richland 73-75-148

Zack Spencer, Mead, Wash. 76-75-151

Ben Gleason, Lewiston 78-74-152

Connor Hogan, Lewiston 76-76-152

Ryan Newcomb, Nine Mile Falls, Wash. 72-80-152

Ryan Baumgartl, Walal Walla 72-80-152

Andrew Raab, Yakima 77-76-153

Blake Ellingsen, Spokane 75-78-153

Andrew Dodge, Lewiston 75-78-153

Matthew Heckel, Spokane 77-78-155

Kyle Kaufman, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 77-78-155

Austin Billeter, Mead, Wash. 77-78-155

Eric Dahl, Richland 75-80-155

Michael Brutocao, Spokane 75-81-156

Austin Backes, Yakima 81-75-156

Dean Atkinson, Walla Walla 79-79-158

Bryan Heer, Ephrata, Wash. 80-79-159

Josh Garza, West Richland 80-80-160

Brenden Cox, Moses Lake 81-80-161

Jon Wilson, Kennewick 82-80-162

Nick Atwood, Walla Walla 78-87-165

Nick Rheingans, Liberty Lake 87-78-165

Hunter Ashby, Richland 83-85-168

Andrew Hattori, Richland 86-87-173

Cody Culletto, Clarkston 87-86-173

Nick Sutherland, Moses Lake 89-85-174

Austin Brown, Kennewick 95-82-177

Quinton Parnell, Richland 92-WD-WD

Boys 12-14 Division

Travis Kay, Ellensburg 74-69-143

Joseph Baldeck, Clarkston 76-75-151

Scott Kimball, Walla Walla 80-80-160

Matthew Baldeck, Clarkston 81-84-165

Griffin Parsons, Wenatchee 87-84-171

Nathan Towner, Walla Walla 92-80-172

Jonathan Imperial, Wapato, Wash. 90-82-172

Ryan Ray, Richland 85-88-173

Braydon Hogg, Richland 86-87-173

Riley Chester, Milton-Freewater 91-97-188

Adam Rabb, Yakima 101-90-191

Girls 15-17 Division

Taylor Kain-Godoy, Richland 75-74-149

Kaceelyn Pouttu, Kellogg, Idaho 75-76-151

Jessica Huntsman, Walla Walla 77-79-156

Kristen Hansen, Spokane 80-79-159

Nicole Berg, Spokane 81-80-161

Kelsey Aiello, Pasco 82-80-162

Neydeen Martinez, Pasco 80-82-162

Catherine Warner, Kennewick 85-84-169

Katie Stephens, Richland 84-89-173

Michal Schuster, St. John, Wash. 89-85-174

Lacy Skwarek, Richland 88-94-182

Kendall Sage, Ephrata, Wash. 93-90-183

Mikayla Morse, Spokane 91-95-186

Kassidy Krug, Liberty Lake, Wash. 97-93-190

Kendall Dunovant, Walla Walla 105-102-207

Girls 12-14 Division

Emily Baumgart, Walla Walla 82-83-165

Kelly Hooper, Spokane 87-81-168

Jaylayne Martinez, Pasco 90-83-173

Megen Billeter, Mead, Wash. 86-95-181

Cailin Spencer, Mead, Wash. 86-96-182

Grace Frazier, Clarkston 90-96-186