Eastern District golf: Medalist Phelps leads Churchland to upset win

PORTSMOUTH

Ryan Phelps could have panicked.

It would have been understandable if he did. Leading by one stroke at the Eastern District golf tournament Thursday, he had just flubbed his tee shot on the 18th hole, watching the ball glance off his driver and travel a mere 60 yards.

This was as bad as it could get. After all, the flag was still so far away. But Phelps, a Churchland High School sophomore, gathered himself. His goal was still achievable. His next shot brought him a little bit closer. The one after that — right on the green. The final one — in the cup. Phelps came back to save par, stunning his closest challenger, Norview senior Matt Leon, who won the tournament last year.

“I just played smart,” Phelps said.

Phelps finished with a two-day total of 155, beating Leon by one stroke. He also helped Churchland win the team championship as the Truckers overcame Maury and Granby — the district’s other Eastern Region tournament qualifiers.

“Ryan played pristine golf,” Churchland coach Billy Kline said. “He was striking the ball well. He had a good strategy on the course. He was trying to keep the ball in the short grass and hit greens in regulation.”

Phelps’ conservative approach helped him overtake Leon, who held a one-shot lead over Phelps after producing a 74 at Ocean View on Monday.

At the beginning of the morning Thursday, when a cool breeze rustled the leaves on the tree-lined fairways at Bide-a-Wee, Leon seemed to be on his way to defending his title. But Leon lost his advantage on the back nine. He followed a bogey on the 14th hole with a double-bogey on the 15th and wasn’t able to recover in time to catch Phelps.

“I don’t know what happened,” Leon said, shaking his head in disgust. “I just had a bad nine (holes).”

After Phelps made his par putt on the 18th hole for an 80, Leon grimaced. The last opportunity to regain what he lost had disappeared. He shook hands with Phelps, who breathed a sigh of relief, then turned in his card. Leon shot 82.

On this day, a raw score of 80 was good enough to win the championship. But a little moxie was needed, as well.

“I hit a few shots I didn’t want to,” Phelps said. “But I came back and finished out with a lot of pars. I feel pretty proud.”

Eastern District tournament

Final round

At Bide-A-Wee, par 72

Final team scores: Churchland 664; Maury 671; Granby 695; Norview 737.

Churchland individuals: Ryan Phelps 75-80—155; Stephen Butt 85-81—166; Asia McDonald 84-86—170; Andrew Pearson 88-88—176; Kevin Gahagen 85-96—181; Ryan Chandler 112-113—225.

Maury individuals: Kevin Radford 76-83—159; John Garrett 81-79—160; Doug Hatcher 88-91—179; Coby Cowgill 89-90—179; Kevin Cartoski 83-79—181.

Granby individuals: Erik Krumm 76-81—157; Emily Lint 84-84—168; Sam Robinson 88-87—175; Kenny Clarke 96-101—197; Jeremy Jones 101-99—200; Joshua Pearson 105-108—213.

Other Eastern Region qualifiers: Matt Leon (Norv) 74-82—156; James Journigan (Wilson) 90-85—175.