Platte County junior Josh Knickman carded the second-best 18-hole score of his career in round one of the Class 4 MSHSAA Golf Championships, and sophomore Braden Hendee and freshman Brayden Renno showed improvement on Day 2. All three first-time state qualifiers gained valuable experience in the trip to Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau and brought an end to a strong developmental season for a roster with no seniors.
Knickman ended up with a 77-94—171 to tie for 59th and lead Platte County’s trio, while Hendee came in at 90-83—173, moving up 13 spots on the leaderboard in the second round to finish alone in 65th. Renno’s 103-95—198 put him at 89th.
“Day one of the tournament was full of ups and downs as we made our way through the course,” Platte County coach Trevor Short said. “Each player was having their own kind of day. Josh Knickman was in a zone and was playing at his highest level while Hendee and Renno were having a few battles along the way. Day two was also full of ups and downs.
“Championship golf is a little different than most of your regular tournaments.”
Knickman ended up peaking at the right time of the season, following up a career-best 75 in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships by earning a state bid. He put himself in a tie for one of the final all-state spots — the top 15 plus ties — after the first round thanks to a pair of birdies on the back nine of a 5-over round.
A bogey on the 17th prevented Knickman from being in even better position.
A second-year starter, Knickman couldn’t keep the momentum. He carded only one double bogey in his first 18 holes but had six in the second round, which also featured only five pars, and tumbled to the middle of the pack by the end of the two-day tournament.
Hendee nearly caught Knickman in the second round in a bounceback from Monday.
After earning a spot in the top five of Platte County’s lineup early in his freshman season, Hendee carded the best score in most competitions this season as the de facto No. 1. His first state round featured only three pars, but he managed to salvage an 18-over 90 and then improved during his second 18 holes.
Hendee made birdies at Nos. 6, 15 and 18 on Tuesday with a pair of triple bogeys preventing him from a possible score in the 70s.
A breakout performance at districts helped Renno cap a freshman season filled with growth at state. He made a pair of pars in a difficult opening round but came back with five in the second round to shoot eight strokes lower.
“It takes a lot of skill and mental toughness to be able to put together quality rounds when you know this is the final tournament of the season,” Short said. “We are extremely proud of all the players and how they handled themselves this season and how they represented Platte County to the best of their abilities. We are already looking forward to next season.”
Platte County went into the season with four players having prior varsity experience but minus a pair of a seniors — one a three-year No. 1 and two-time state qualifier. The Pirates used nine different players in the lineup but ultimately settled on three returning starters (junior Joshua Gentilia, Knickman and Hendee) plus Renno and junior Evan Sedlacek for conference and the postseason.
After finishing as runnerup to Grain Valley in the White Division, Platte County nearly qualified a team for state at Class 4 District 4. However, Gentilia ended up disqualified after signing an incorrect scorecard, and the Pirates fell from second to fourth.
However, Knickman, Hendee and Renno all finished in the top 16 individuals not from the two automatic qualifying teams to extend the season.
The best of the best are all on the same course on the same day and everyone is trying to be their best. It takes a lot of skill and mental toughness to be able to put together quality rounds when you know this is the final tournament of the season. Knickman wasn’t playing badly on day two, there were just a few unlucky bounces that didn’t go his way and that can sometimes snowball for a few holes. We are extremely proud of all the players and how they handled themselves this season and how they represented Platte County to the best of their abilities. We are already looking forward to next season.
