Clutch putting nets Shadow Ridge’s Ben Davis Sunset title
Shadow Ridge boys golfer Ben Davis thought he had no chance to win after a double bogey on the 11th hole at Wildhorse Golf Club.
But with the difficult conditions Tuesday, it turned out no lead was safe.
Davis made up a six-shot deficit in the final seven holes, then birdied the second playoff hole to defeat Palo Verde senior Brandon Bauman and win the Division I Sunset Region tournament.
Davis, a UNLV recruit, shot 4-over-par 74 in the final round and finished with a 1-over 142 to win his third region title. He made an 8-foot putt for par on No. 18 to send it to a playoff, then drained a clutch 20-footer for par on the first playoff hole after his tee shot landed in a bush and he was forced to take a drop because of an unplayable lie.
On the second playoff hole, the par-3 11th, Davis stuck his tee shot 8 feet from the pin, while Bauman missed the green to the left. Bauman, the defending region champion, then left his chip well short of the hole and missed a long par putt that would have put the pressure back on Davis.
“I’m happy I pulled out the win,” Davis said. “I still can’t believe I made that putt on (the first playoff hole), especially after my round today. I couldn’t make any putts, and then I finally show up.”
Bauman, who led by one shot after the first round, shot 75 on Tuesday. He was 2 under for the tournament through 12 holes but made four consecutive bogeys to open the door for Davis.
Palo Verde and Bishop Gorman each finished at 747, but the Panthers won the team title on a scorecard playoff. Palo Verde’s sixth golfer, Jun Oshimoto, shot a second-round 74 and finished the tournament at 156, one stroke ahead of Gorman’s No. 6, Owen Rosebeck.
The top two teams and the top five individuals from nonqualifying teams advance to the Division I state tournament May 21 and 22 at Mountain Falls Golf Club in Pahrump.
In the Sunrise Region, Coronado’s Bradley Keyer fired a 1-under 69 and finished at 3-under 138 to run away the individual title by 12 strokes over Las Vegas’ Trey Jensen and Foothill’s Andrew Chu. Keyer was the only player in the three regions to successfully handle the wind and break par in the second round.
Keyer, who entered the final round with a two-shot lead over Chu and Coronado teammate Michael Kirby, had a stretch of three straight birdies on the front nine and made eight pars on the back. Jensen shot a second-round 72, and Chu made only two birdies and struggled to a 79.
“Winning it is great, but it’s a high school golf tournament and it’s a team event, so I was just trying to put up two numbers that I knew would help my team win,” Keyer said.
Coronado posted a 767 total to win the team title for the sixth time in seven years. Foothill was second at 801, followed by Green Valley at 836.
Boulder City’s Luke Logan won his third straight region title, firing a second-round 70 in the Division I-A Southern tournament.
Logan birdied the difficult par-4 ninth hole and took advantage of a four-shot swing when first-round leader Charlie Magruder of Faith Lutheran hit two balls into the water on the way to a triple bogey.
Logan was even on the back nine and finished the tournament at 149, three shots ahead of Magruder (77) and Faith Lutheran’s Dallas Haun (76).
Faith Lutheran finished at 810 to win the team title over Boulder City (826) and Pahrump Valley (889). All three teams qualify for the Division I-A state tournament along with the top five individuals from nonqualifying teams.
