If you had counted all six scores instead of the top four golfers between Western Albemarle and Monticello, the difference in score still would have only been one stroke. When it game down to the top four for both, the 144 holes of golf at Rivanna Resort could not separate the two, so it was playoff time.
After the first hole, nothing was decided. After the second, there was, finally, a result. The Warriors’ Kent Miller picked up a par save on the par-3 second hole that wound up propelling Western to victory.
“Our one and two and their one and two are really good junior golfers so I didn’t expect much separation there,” said Western coach Darren Maynard.
Western’s Hunter Weis shot the lowest round of the day, placing first with a 4-over par 76 by keeping things simple on the unforgiving course.
“I kept it straight on the fairway,” Weis said. “That’s the key on a tight course like this.”
While the Warriors had the medalist on the day in Weis, the Mustangs had a pair of golfers only one stroke behind in Kevin Archer’s and Evan Childress’ rounds of 77.
“That’s something that we have now that really builds confidence for the rest of the team,” said Monticello coach Pam Bradley. “We’ve got a couple of people that post those really low scores for us.”
It was that leg work that set up the tie between last year’s first place and second place Jefferson District squads. Tied overall at 314, the two teams put together two pairs to be split into two groups to play in a playoff on the first hole.
With the way the first pairs played for Western and Monticello, all the drama was set up for the second pairs. On the first hole, Childress, Archer and Western’s Alex O’Dell and Brett Engle all reached the fairway, then put their second shot on the green or the fringe and all 2-putted to save par. Both Archer and O’Dell almost put their team up a stoke with Archer’s birdie attempt from the fringe hung on the edge of the cup and O’Dell’s up hill did doing the exact same.
In the second group, Western’s tandem of Weis and Kent Miller each found the fairway, so too did Wilmer for Monticello, but Jacob Livengood had his drive sail off into the rough. The former three were all able to reach the green with their second shots, but Livengood’s drive forced him to get their in three strokes, giving Western an edge. After Wilmer and Weis each two-putted to save par, the pressure was on Livengood’s shoulders as he had to sink a challenging 12-foot putt to save par as Miller was set up to easily two-putt, if not birdie. Livengood nailed his putt, much to the delight of his coach and teammates, and Miller just missed birdying so it was on to the next hole for both teams.
Playing on the par-3 second hole, the first group once again refused to create any separation with all four golfers putting their drives on the green or fringe and 2-putting for par to place the pressure on the second group.
Both Weis and Miller reached the green for Western, but both Wilmer and Livengood did not. Miller put himself in place to save par, but Weis gave himself a difficult putt to save par, which re-opened the door for Monticello. With both Wilmer and Livengood facing tough shots, neither were able to sink their shots and finished with bogeys. Miller knocked down his par save to put his team out front.
“The first putt got airborne fast,” Miller said. “The second putt, I didn’t even think about it. I just put it in the hole.”
All Western needed was a bogey putt from Weis, and it got just that to seal the match.
For both teams, the opportunity to play in a postseason-like environment just a few weeks into the season was a big bonus. Western and Monticello have been the Region II representatives for the JD for the last three seasons.
“I thought this was going to be good for us win or lose,” Maynard said. “You never know what you’re going to see in the playoffs. Who knows, you might wind up in a playoff there and now you have some experience to fall back on.”
In Monticello’s case, being able to go toe-to-toe with the defending JD champs was reaffirming, and watching the Mustangs respond well to the pressure in the playoff was something Bradley enjoyed.
“This is great experience for us,” Bradley said. “It’s a pressure environment and we saw that we could deal with it out there today.”
The feeling was no different for the players.
“It was definitely good to feel the pressure early,” Miller said. “It’s going to help the players on this team.”
Before the playoff, there were a number of note worthy performances and finishes. Charlottesville finished just eight stroke back of Western and Monticello thanks to strong rounds from Phillip Hoffman and Rob Bergland who shot 78 and 79 respectively. Louisa County’s Brady Noland put himself in the mix to take away Medalist honors as he finished tied for second with Childress and Archer after shooting a 77. The Lions finished fourth. Powhatan’s Trey Barden had the best round for the fifth placed Indians with his 79. Fluvanna County’s Trey Coleman has the best round for the Flucos by shooting a round of 90.
