Nampa dual-sport star, Vallivue freshman excel on windy day of Idaho district golf
Most golfers would rather not contend with the wind. Bobby Kincaid is the exception.
The Nampa High junior used the gusts to his advantage, carding a 2-over 74 for medalist honors at the 4A District Three boys golf tournament Wednesday at TimberStone Golf Course.
Kincaid finished three strokes ahead of his nearest competitor to secure a spot at next week’s 4A state tournament, which will be played Monday and Tuesday at Lakeview Golf Club in Meridian. He is Nampa’s first individual district golf champion since 2005.
“I’m really good at flighting the ball and hitting it at different trajectories, which really helps in the wind,” Kincaid said.
Kincaid is also good at juggling responsibilities. Just Tuesday night, he was on the mound pitching for Nampa’s varsity baseball team in the district tournament. By Wednesday afternoon, he was on the course at TimberStone contending for a district championship.
“We see him once in a while,” longtime Nampa golf coach Don Loughmiller joked. “But he’s the type of kid that you know, he loves golf and he loves baseball, and he’s just a competitor. He’s not gonna lay down and let anybody walk over him. He’s gonna take ‘em to the tool shed real quick.”
Kincaid called his winning round Wednesday “interesting,” lamenting that he was a little loose with his driver on the front nine because of his time on the mound. But he made a “few putts” on the back nine to grind out the win, he said.
“I just tried to stay within myself and hit every shot that I could,” Kincaid said.
When Kincaid wasn’t quick to praise his play, Loughmiller was happy to step in, calling Kincaid a Division I talent.
“For (Nampa High), we’ve had maybe one or two kids that would be on his level in 20 years of coaching,” Loughmiller said. “Other schools get a few more, we just don’t get that many. I’m just happy he’s playing for us and not someone else.”
The Bishop Kelly boys brought home the team district championship for the first time since 2018, totaling 331 to best runner-up Middleton (342) by 11 strokes. Columbia combined for a 380 to grab the third and final team spot at the state tournament.
Dallas Jackson led the Knights with a 77, good enough for second individually, while Niclas Bischoff-Jones (82), Andrew Moodie (83) and Ayden Dyson (89) rounded out the scoring for BK. Henry Gale (92) will be the Knights’ fifth team member at state.
4A Girls: Vallivue golfer wins on first try
Nerves got the best of Claire Hall on the first hole at TimberStone, and she ended up in a sand bunker.
What really matters is how she finished.
The Vallivue High freshman fired an 81 to win by two strokes over defending district and state champion Margaret Smock (83) of Bishop Kelly.
“I’m not gonna lie, it was very nerve-racking on the first hole,” Hall said. “Eventually I just had to push myself through it and understand that everybody’s out here struggling and wanting to do good. I just had to push myself to do my best.”
Hall, who started playing golf at the age of 2, said she had no idea she’d won until she got to the clubhouse and counted up her score.
“It was definitely a shock,” Hall said. “I was just like, ‘Wow,’ knowing that I kind of beat everybody. That was the best feeling ever.”
The Bishop Kelly girls won the team title for the second year in a row with a 353, despite having one of the youngest lineups. The Knights feature two juniors and three freshmen, and three of their four scoring golfers — Smock, Maeve Fitzgerald (88) and Jesse Moodie (89) — finished among the top five individually.
After finishing second at last year’s state tournament, BK has its eye on its first state championship since 2014.
“It definitely gives us good momentum going into state,” Smock said. “... There’s definitely some tough competition, but we’re excited.”
Middleton will join Bishop Kelly at state with its second-place finish, totaling 412.
4A DISTRICT 3 GOLF TOURNAMENT
Wednesday
At TimberStone
Par 72
BOYS
Team scores (top 3 to state)
1, Bishop Kelly 331.
2, Middleton 342.
3, Columbia 380.
4, Caldwell 398.
5, Nampa 408.
6, Ridgevue 412.
7, Vallivue 424.
8, Emmett 450.
Top eight individuals (all to state)
1, Bobby Kincaid, Nampa, 74.
2, Dallas Jackson, Bishop Kelly, 77.
3, Curtis Seidel, Middleton, 80.
4, Niclas Bischoff-Jones, Bishop Kelly, 82.
5, Andrew Moodie, Bishop Kelly, 83.
6, Colby Chinn, Ridgevue, 84.
t-7, Cade Dean, Middleton, 85.
t-7, Luke Olsen, Middleton 85.
GIRLS
Team scores (top 2 to state)
1, Bishop Kelly 353.
2, Middleton 412.
3, Columbia, 451.
4, Vallivue 458.
5, Emmett 487.
Top five individuals (all to state)
1, Claire Hall, Vallivue, 81.
2, Margaret Smock, Bishop Kelly, 83.
3, Olivia Lammey, Middleton, 87,
4, Maeve Fitzgerald, Bishop Kelly, 88.
5, Jesse Moodie, Bishop Kelly, 89.
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 9:42 PM.
