OLYMPIA — After shooting consecutive scores of 71 over two days, Sequim’s Ben Sweet tied for first place in the 2A state golf tournament with Zach Miller of White River, then ended up in second place after getting beat by one stroke in the first sudden-death playoff hole.
“It was an unbelievable battle,” said Sequim coach Sean O’Mera. “It was incredibly impressive.”
Sweet made a clutch 16-foot putt on the 16th hole to take a brief lead. Miller was able to tie Sweet on the 18th to force the sudden-death playoff. The playoff came down to a Sweet two-putt as Miller was able to end it with one putt.
After finishing second the first day of the tournament Tuesday, Sweet was in the final group along with Miller and Von Wasson of Centralia, who led after Day 1 with a 69. Wasson struggled his second day with a 75 and slipped down to fourth. Miller and Sweet both shot 71 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“He had tons of pressure all day,” O’Mera said. “He knew exactly how his competitors were doing.”
Sweet will move on to play golf for Whitman University in Walla Walla next year.
Sequim’s Dominic Riccobene shot a 76 on his second day. Including his first-day score of 77, he finished with a 153, good for 15th. Sequim as a team came in fifth place with 73.5 points. Burlington-Edison, which had five golfers make the second-day cut and finish between ninth and 19th place, won the state team championship with 131 points.
Port Angeles’ Phoenix Flores and Edun Bailey both improved on their first-day scores to move up. Flores shot a solid 78 on his second day and was briefly the official leader Wednesday before the later groups finished their rounds. He finished with a 159 to come in 27th overall.
Bailey shot an 80 on Day 2. Including his first-day score of 82, he finished with a 162, good for 34th place.
Cole Smithson of Sequim shot a 110 on Tuesday.
Girls tournament
In the girls tournament at Tumwater Valley Golf Course, two local golfers made the cut and finished in the top 25.
Sequim’s Hannah Wagner shot 181 total, a 90 on her first day and 91 on her second. She finished 24th overall.
Port Angeles’ Piper Williams jumped up a few spots with a solid 88 on her second day. Including her first-day score of 96, which just made the cut, she finished with a 184, good for 25th place. Williams, who only made the cut because a girl ahead of her withdrew from the tournament, shot the 19th-best score of the day on her second day to pass seven other golfers.
Winning the girls’ state championship was Brooke Gelinas of White River with a two-day score of 141. The White River girls also won the state championship.
On Day 1, Claire Osterberg of Port Angeles shot a 110 and Lauryn Chapman of Port Angeles shot a 132.
