Ponies Land Another Outstanding Golfer

[50's PONY]

Golf: SMU lands Liberty Christian’s natural golfer

Two-time state champion Kincaid ends prestigious career with college signing


08:20 AM CDT on Monday, May 24, 2004


By Ethan B. Szatmary / Staff Writer




Liberty Christian senior Clarke Kincaid was born to be a golfer.

Kincaid’s middle name is Hogan, and not because his dad Tom was a big fan of Colonel Klink. No, his father idolized Texas golfing great Ben Hogan, and Clarke followed his father’s passion onto the links at such a young age that he can’t remember life before golf.


Courtesy photo
Liberty Christian senior Clarke Kincaid lines up a putt for eagle on No. 17 at the 2004 TAPPS 4A state golf tournament at River Crossing on April 20. Kincaid sank the putt to leapfrog Tyler Grace Community’s Clay Hodge on the leaderboard. Kincaid then sunk a par putt on No. 18 to win the state title.
Kincaid went on to become the best golfer in the six-year history of the Liberty Christian golf program, and he has signed a national letter of intent to play for SMU in 2004-05.

"I liked coach Jay Loar, and it’s in Dallas so I’ll be close to home," said Kincaid of his decision to join the Mustangs.

In 2003-04, Kincaid wrapped up the best career in the six-year history of the Liberty golf team. He won the individual title as a freshman, and performed the feat again as a senior. This year, Kincaid rallied from three strokes back on the final day of the state tournament, sinking an eagle putt on 17 to clinch his second state medal.

"There’s no doubt, Clarke is the best golfer we’ve ever had," said Liberty head coach Larry Frank.

Kincaid helped lead the Warriors to team titles in his freshman and junior years, he finished second in the state tournament as both a sophomore and junior, and the team took second in state his sophomore and senior years. He averaged 71.83 per 18 holes of golf.

As he won the state title as a freshman, Kincaid came to Liberty with talent, but nobody just walks in and becomes a Division I golf talent. He had help and a lot of hard work.

"I’ve spent a lot of time on it, and if you work hard, you get better," said Kincaid. "Larry’s helped me a lot with my attitude. I used to get really upset and then I take it to the next shot. Only in the last year and half, have I slowly gotten out of that. And, Dana Bellenger of Leonard Golf Links in Fort Worth is my instructor. He’s helped me with everything."

While Kincaid said he’ll remember the eagle putt on 17 in the 2004 state championship as his most vivid memory on the course, it was the camaraderie with his fellow teammates during his senior year, especially fellow senior Josh Little, that he will cherish most.

"I’ll remember this year because Josh and I became really good friends," he said. "He had the best year he had, and I had the best year I had. It was more enjoyable, and the team got along better this year than in years past.

Kincaid follows in the footsteps of Pilot Point’s Colt Knost, who signed with SMU last year and was named the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the year in 2003-04.

Kincaid doesn’t know what he will study at SMU or if he will factor into the rotation as a freshman. He has qualified to play in the Texas Amateur Championship on June 3-6 at Carlton Woods in Houston, and he plans to play as much golf as possible before he heads down to Dallas in August and sees what happens.

"My goal only goal is to work hard and get as good as I can get," he said.

Frank knows that the Warriors will not soon recover from the loss of Kincaid, as well as Little, who has signed with Paris Junior College.

"It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how much we’re going to miss those two guys," said Frank. "Along with Clay Hodge [Tyler Grace Community golfer], they’re the three best players in TAPPS 4A. If you lose those type of players, it hurts. It hurts even more because they’re a pair of great guys."

ETHAN B. SZATMARY can be reached at 940-566-6869.


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[Water Pony]

Thanks for the great post and news on the signing. Excellent

[BleedingRed+Blue]

This is GREAT news! While we're building the football and hoops programs, we need the non-revenue sports to keep kickin' tail. Well done, Coach Loar!