WOODBURN – Lake Oswego's Drew Woolworth not only didn't flinch at the pressure of defending his 6A boys golf title this week, he thrived in it.
The junior followed Monday's opening round of 67 with a second-round 66 Tuesday to repeat as champion in the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 6A tournament at the OGA Golf Course.
He won by eight strokes for the second year in a row, his 11-under-par 133 tying the all-time state tournament record held by Crescent Valley's David Crowell since 1995.
“It feels great to repeat,” Woolworth said. “The whole week leading up to it, I was just sticking to what I've been doing. I knew I could come out here and shoot two low scores, so I was happy with what I did.”
Behind the left-handed Woolworth, Lake Oswego won the team title for the second time in three years, outscoring runner-up Westview 609-612. With their 11th state championship, the Lakers broke the tie with Jesuit and Medford for the most in state history. Last year, Lake Oswego finished second, five strokes behind Jesuit.
“It was good that this year the team got the win,” Woolworth said. “I was a little sad last year that the team didn't win.”
The title capped a dominant season for the Georgia-bound Woolworth, who finished with a stroke average of 68.55 in nine tournaments. He entered the state tournament as the clear favorite and delivered in a big way.
Lake Oswego assistant coach Amy Simanton, who won the girls state title for the Lakers in 2007 and went on to a professional career, marveled at how Woolworth dealt with the pressure. Simanton and former PGA Tour pro Brian Henninger coach Woolworth at The Golf Farm.
“He's a special talent, for sure,” Simanton said. “Having kind of been in his shoes – maybe not to the degree he is – I understand the pressure that he feels. And somehow he can manage it. To watch it is incredible. I'm pretty much in awe of his talent.”
Woolworth said he felt the pressure “a lot.”
“You've got to come out here and play your own game,” he said. “I don't really look at the scoreboard when I'm out there. I just try to stay in my head and play my own game. I don't really like to think there's a lot of pressure. I like to think I'm just out playing golf and having fun. I try to keep a smile on my face.”
Woolworth was at 12-under before bogeying No. 16, missing a five-foot putt. He had a last chance to set the state tournament record on No. 18, but was unable to drain a 30-foot putt for birdie.
“I wasn't going to be too aggressive with it, but I did want to make it,” Woolworth said. “I took my time and I really thought I had a good line.”
Tigard senior Jennings Oelke, Woolworth's primary rival in the Three Rivers League, started the day in second place, four strokes behind Woolworth. Oelke shot a 32 on the front nine to stay within four strokes, but Woolworth birdied three of the next four holes to pull away. Oelke finished second at 141.
“Jennings was playing great,” Woolworth said. “We were going back and forth. We were making putt after putt.”
Oelke struggled on the back nine, recording four bogeys.
“It was a tough day out there, especially with the wind, but it was a really fun battle,” Oelke said. “I didn't finish the way I would have liked, but I felt like I played pretty good. … Second place is still pretty good.”
Dueling with Woolworth was a season-long challenge for Oelke.
“It definitely made me better,” said Oelke, who has signed with Iona. “Seeing that motivated me to get better.”
Westview junior Alex Yang finished third at 145. West Linn junior Cade McVicker and Sherwood freshman Hudson O'Connell tied for fourth at 146.
Lake Oswego's scorers were Woolworth, sophomore Nathan Pai (153) and juniors Jimmy Keyser (161) and Nate Cheriel (162). It was the first state tournament for Keyser and Cheriel.
“They don't have as much scar tissue, which is nice,” Lakers coach Adam Ruben said. “They always came to practice to learn every day.”
Central Catholic (616) and Lakeridge (618) placed third and fourth, respectively.
5A
Corvallis came from nine strokes behind Summit after the first round to grab the team title in the 5A tournament at OGA, denying the Storm a fourth consecutive state championship.
It is the second title in four seasons and 10th overall for the Spartans, who are tied with Jesuit and Medford for the second-most state championships, behind Lake Oswego (11).
Corvallis shot a combined total of 309 in the second round to finish at 626, ahead of Summit (635), La Salle Prep (638) and Canby (647). The Spartans' lineup featured senior Ben Boysen (152), juniors Chase Brown (155) and Nick Swensen (158) and sophomore Derek Davis (161).
"Our goal was to stay present and control the controllable," Corvallis coach Ryan Brown said. "The team did a great job of that all day. It was a great two days of golf, and everything came together when we needed it to."
Summit, the 6A champion in 2022 and 5A champion the last two years, shot 308 in the first round to lead La Salle Prep by four strokes. But the Storm fired 327 on Tuesday.
Freshman Connor Holden became Canby's first state champion by shooting an even-par 144. His victory comes one month after he won a 16-team 6A/5A State Preview tournament at OGA.
Holden started the day one stroke behind the leader, Summit sophomore Bryden Ditty, and he fired a 70 to overtake Ditty (149) and Wilsonville junior Luke Sidhu (150). La Salle Prep senior Jonas Caddell, the reigning champion, finished fourth at 151.
Summit's scorers were Ditty, junior Bryce Grieb (153) and seniors Rooks Maxwell (162) and Paolo Delia (171).
4A
North Bend senior Owen Bascom shot a 2-under 142 to win the 4A tournament by three strokes over Molalla senior Massimo Cereghino at Tokatee Golf Course in McKenzie.
Bascom entered the second round in second place, three strokes behind Cereghino, but fired a 4-under 68 to move ahead. Cereghino shot a second-round 74 to finish as runner-up for the second year in a row.
Bascom, the state runner-up in 2023 and third place last year, is North Bend's first individual state champion. He also won the 4A State Preview at Tokatee on May 5 by shooting a 68.
Seaside junior Xanh Quang (151), Stayton senior Isaac Laro (152) and Baker/Powder Valley junior Elias Long (156) were the next top scorers.
Seaside captured its fifth team title and first since going back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. The Seagulls entered Tuesday in second place, three strokes behind reigning champion Marist Catholic, but beat the Spartans 640-647 for the title.
“Last night I told the kids, 'I'd rather be three down than three up,'” Seaside coach Jim Poetsch said. “It's tough to sleep on a lead. I think we probably slept a little better last night and played a little better today.”
North Bend (662) finished third and Baker/Powder Valley (665) was fourth.
Seaside won behind Quang and seniors Madden Wunderlich (161), Alex Arden (163) and Logan Norman (165). Marist Catholic's scorers were seniors Nick Hudson (158) and Christian Guerrero (159), freshman Tripp Murphy (163) and junior Jaxen Mazur (167).
Marist Catholic won the 4A State Preview by 21 strokes over Seaside.
“We didn't have our best day that day,” Poetsch said. “That kind of woke us up a little. We spent a lot of time at Tokatee the last few weeks. It paid off in the end.”
3A/2A/1A
Crosspoint Christian junior Davis Hartwell edged Bandon sophomore Sevren Quinn by one stroke to repeat as champion in the 3A/2A/1A tournament at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis.
The Oregon State-bound Hartwell shot a 65 on Monday to take a five-stroke lead, but shot a 73 on Tuesday to finish at 4-under 138. Quinn followed a 71 on Monday with a 68 on Tuesday for 139.
Harttwell teed off more than one hour before Quinn, finishing his round with a birdie. Quinn needed to play 3-under on the back nine to draw even, but fell one stroke short. He also birdied No. 18 after hitting a shot from about 95 yards out to within two feet of the cup.
Hartwell's win comes after he lost to Quinn by one stroke in their district tournament at Bandon Crossings.
Bandon senior Peyton Simonds and Brookings-Harbor senior Lucas Vanderlip tied for third at 143. Oregon Episcopal freshman Mateo Gramstad was fifth at 144.
“These boys in 3A/2A/1A, there are a lot of great players,” Bandon coach Scott Millhouser said. “It was fun to watch them. Just solid players that know their games.”
Bandon won the team title for the second year in a row, shooting a 12-over 580 to beat Valley Catholic (629), Oregon Episcopal (630) and Western Christian (641). Bandon's scoring came from Quinn, Simonds, sophomore Braedon Millhouser (146) and freshman Jackson Simonds (152).
The Tigers' total broke the 3A/2A/1A record held by St. Mary's, which shot 14-over 590 in 2014.
“That was our goal,” Scott Millhouser said. “These boys were committed from Day 1 of the season. I just had to get them here and let them do their thing. We're going to miss Peyton next year, but we've got a good crew coming back. I'm excited about the future.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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