Beach District golf: Kellam takes title, but Wawner settles for medalist tie with Paolini

VIRGINIA BEACH

Wade Wawner sighed and pursed his lips. The Kellam senior looked as if he had been defeated. It was an odd reaction from a player who fought his way back on the 18th hole to make a birdie, who produced the lowest round of the day and who achieved the best score in the Beach District tournament. But Wawner’s shoulders slumped. He gave everything he could Monday, and he would still have to share the title with Cox’s Brinson Paolini.

Both Paolini and Wawner finished with a two-day total of 142 and when they handed over their scorecards inside the clubhouse at Red Wing they were prepared to return to the course to determine the winner. The playoff never materialized, however. And Wawner, who helped lead the Knights to a 7-stroke victory over defending champ Cox in the team competition with a 68 on Monday, was crestfallen.

“I just wanted to beat him for once,” Wawner said. “He’s always been on top.”

Paolini had won the previous two Beach District tournaments and turned in the lowest score, a 72, in the first round last Wednesday when the wind was howling on the wide-open course. After he birdied the first three holes on a sun-kissed afternoon Monday -when the conditions were ideal — Paolini seemed to be on his way to beating the field again. Few doubted that he would.

“There’s never a time I go out and don’t give 110 percent,” Paolini said. “I play to win.”

Paolini approached his final round with the confidence that led him to a victory in the state amateur this past summer, but he couldn’t distance himself from Wawner, who had never defeated the Cox golfer in a sanctioned competition. Wawner applied pressure on Paolini with a steady performance on the front nine, but never seemed to pose a legitimate threat until Paolini produced a double-bogey on the par-five 14th hole. The two-shot swing changed the complexion of the final round and by the 18th hole they were tied.

Wawner’s final approach shot of the day, however, appeared to scuttle his chances to complete the comeback. It landed in a patch of marsh land near a water hazard on the par-five dogleg.

But Wawner battled back like he had all day and eventually produced a birdie. He then watched Paolini nearly snatch victory with an eagle putt that skipped wide of the hole. After Paolini finished his round, Wawner grabbed his clubs and prepared for a duel at sunset. That’s when he learned he would have to settle for a tie.

“I wish we could have played a hole or two,” he said. “I wanted to go head-to-head.”

His coach, Jason Copeland, understood his player’s frustration, but then smiled and said, “A win is a win.”

Beach District tournament

Final round

At Red Wing, par 72

Team scores (top three qualify for Eastern Region play): 1. Kellam 301-290—591; 2. Cox 310-288—598; 3. Princess Anne 324-295—619; 4. First Colonial 324-308—632; 5. Kempsville 328-321—649; 6. Ocean Lakes 339-323—662; 7. Green RUn 331-338—669; 8. Tallwood 360-367—727.

Kellam individuals: Wade Wawner 74-68—142; Alex Lloyd 73-74—147; Ryan Kilmon 76-73—149; Trey Smith 78-76—154; Bryce Cope 78-77—155; Chase Duffy 82-75—157.

Cox individuals: Brinson Paolini 72-70—142; Chris Valianos 78-71—149; Moss Clark 83-73—156; Andrew Bercraft 83-74—157; Richie Salter 79-79—158; Jonathan Harris 81-80—161;

Princess Anne individuals: Kevin Phelps 78-69—147; Chris Greenfield 81-73—154; David Varney 80-75—155; Kyle Phelps 85-79—164; Jake Semler 90-78—168.

All other Eastern Region qualifiers: Jordan Egan (FC) 79-69—148; Alex Gylfason (FC) 81-73—154; Raymond Ortiz (GR) 78-77—155; Chris Neal (Kemp) 79-79—158; Andrew McCracken (FC) 83-76—159; Elizabeth Cheng (OL) 88-73—161; Kyle Cawthorn (Kemp) 85-77—162; Walter Smith (GR) 79-85—164

See a Photo Gallery from the tournament