Filion finds victory; Blaine tops Pullman
On a day when soggy conditions at Liberty Lake Golf Course called for a player to be content with par, it was only fitting the State 2A boys champion was decided Thursday by a birdie putt.
Lakeside’s Brandon Filion began the day two strokes back out of first place, but his second consecutive 3-over-par 73 knotted him at 146 with Ridgefield’s Cole Alford. After the two both made par on the first playoff hole, Filion won the title with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 445-yard par 4.
“I just wanted to get it close because I knew a par would extend me to the next hole,” Filion said. “It was a tough-looking putt, and when I saw it tracking on line my heart started pumping. It feels great.”
After beginning the day in 11th place, two-time defending champion Bart Patitucci of Othello fired a 71 for the low round of the day and ended with a 147, good enough for a share of third place. Tyler Morris of Riverside followed his first round 73 with a 74 to also finish one stroke out of the playoff. For the second straight day Brian Pan came in with the low score for Pullman. A 73 gave him a two-day total of 148 and a share of fourth place. His Greyhounds were second-place finishers in the race for the team title.
“Today I only hit eight greens, but had five birdies, so I was on a roll with my putting,” Pan said. “This is definitely one of the best teams I’ve been on in four years of playing at Pullman.”
With 33 1/2 points to Pullman’s 31, Blaine narrowly beat out the Greyhounds for the team title.
It’s my senior year, might as well go out with a bang,” said Blaine’s Justin Farmer, who finished tied for 10th. “We won our league and district titles, so we figured two trophies down, one to go.”
While multiple boys had a shot at the individual championship heading into the second round, the girls’ title at the midway point was a two-person race between Jill Quinn of Nooksack Valley and Amy Dalzell of Foster. Despite beginning the day one shot back and being down three after two holes of play, Dalzell used two birdies over the final six holes to finish the day with an 8-over 82 and a 162 for the tournament, good enough for a winning margin of two strokes.
“I’ve been working hard all season, and it finally paid off on the last six holes,” said Dalzell, a senior.
Defending champion Kimberly Schutte of Othello finished fourth and Pullman junior Ashley Scourey bounced back from a first-round 95 with an 89 to secure a spot in fifth place.
Nooksack Valley’s Gena Weinheimer complemented her teammate’s runner-up finish with a third-place finish of her own to secure the team title.