‘I just wanted to get it done today.’ LexCath senior wins elusive region golf title in four-way playoff.
Lexington Catholic senior Charlie Spiller has plenty of experience at the Boys Region 9 Golf Championship.
He finished runner-up as an eighth-grader after falling to a senior competitor in a two-way playoff. He’s been among the state tournament qualifiers every year since, including a third place last year.
Four players finished at 2-under par over 18 holes Wednesday at Gibson Bay Golf Course’s 6,704-yard, par-72 layout. Spiller ranked as the only one among them who had been there and done that in a sudden death playoff with a region title on the line.
“I just wanted to get it done today,” Spiller said.
Spiller, Madison Central’s Tucker Jones, Frederick Douglass’s Drew Edwards and Woodford County’s Bradford Lacefield all parred the 18th to tie the first playoff hole.
Teeing off on No. 1 for the next round, Spiller pulled his drive right of the fairway, the cart path and a few trees on the 414-yard par 4 where everyone started the day five hours earlier.
“Fortunately, it went all the way down the hill where I had a clear shot. I only had 115 (yards) in from there,” Spiller said. “It was just a nice little sand wedge. … I knew when I hit it, it was going to be pretty good. I hit it the way I wanted to and I was pretty happy when it landed.”
Spiller aimed for the front of the narrow green. His ball hit just inside the apron and spun forward despite the soft, wet conditions. It came to rest about 4 feet right of the hole.
It was the same kind of position Spiller put himself in when he made his move to the top of the leaderboard to begin the back nine. Perfect wedge shots to within a few feet of the pin resulted in short birdie putts on the 10th and 11th holes. He bogeyed 12, but bounced back with another birdie on 13 to get to 2-under par.
Spiller’s playoff competitors tried to catch up to his sensational shot, but Jones had a short par putt left and Edwards and Lacefield each faced bogeys.
Spiller stood over a birdie putt for the win.
“I made a good stroke and it went right dead middle,” Spiller said. “It was my best putt of the day.”
Madison Central earns fourth straight team title
Jones and his Madison Central teammates got off to a rocky start with four bogeys and a double on the first hole of the day. They rebounded well, finishing at 3-over par for the tournament for a team win by 13 shots over second place Frederick Douglass.
Jones expressed satisfaction with the team result and gratitude for having a shot at the individual title.
“Honestly, I’m just relieved I got that opportunity because I didn’t play my best golf on the front nine,” Jones said. “But I really turned it on after making a long putt on 12. From there I was like, ‘lids open and I can make them.’”
Jones notched four birdies on the back nine, including the par-5 16th hole which tied him for the lead. Around him, his teammates bounced up and down to grind out their rounds. Jake Feldhaus had four bogeys and four birdies to shoot an even-par 72. Radney Bales matched that score with even more adventure — six bogeys and six birdies.
“After a rocky start today, it was good to see the boys settle in and get the job done,” Madison Central coach Kyle Congleton said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”
Madison Central is the two-time defending state champion. This year marks the Indians’ fourth straight region championship as a team.
Douglass makes state for first time
With its second-place finish as a team at 16-over par, Frederick Douglass earned its first-ever team berth at the state tournament, which begins with next week’s State First Round at Eagles Nest Country Club in Somerset.
“I’ve been on this golf team for six years and we’ve been in the hunt for probably four of them,” said Edwards, a senior who had his best finish at a regional Wednesday. “It feels good to finally break through.”
Joining Edwards at state will be teammates Luke Watson (+3), Cooper Mullins (+5), Anderson Lang (+10) and Ashton Gordon (+11). Only the top four golfers count toward their team’s total.
Douglass coach Rhett Robinson has coached the boys team since the school’s founding in 2017 and coaches the girls as well. In the girls tournament across town at the University Club at Arlington on Wednesday, Phoebe Grier became the first Douglass girls player to make state with a 13-over par round that earned her the final qualifying spot.
“It’s a big day for Douglass golf,” Robinson said. “It’s pretty cool to get through, finally, grinding it out against these Madison Central guys every year.”
Other Lexington state qualifiers
Henry Clay sophomore Carson Nicholas finished among the medalists with a round of 1-under to make state for the second year in a row. Joining him will be Lafayette junior Clay Noble, whose 1-over round got him back to state after missing the cut last season.
Lexington Christian’s Luke Ebel and Parker Geldhof finished at 5-over and survived a 10-way playoff at that number for the final four state qualifying spots. Only the top 10 individual finishers who aren’t part of the two qualifying teams make state.
Region 9 Championship results
Top individuals (individuals from top two teams, plus next 10 individuals qualify for state tournament): 1. Charlie Spiller, Lexington Catholic, -2; 2. Tucker Jones, Madison Central, -2; 3. Drew Edwards, Frederick Douglass, -2; 4. Bradford Lacefield, Woodford County, -2; 5. Brady Parker, Great Crossing, -1; 6. Carson Nicholas, Henry Clay, -1; 7. Radney Bales, Madison Central, E; 8. Jake Feldhaus, Madison Central, E; 9. Clay Noble, Lafayette, +1; 10. Evan Taylor, George Rogers Clark, +3; 11. Luke Ebel, Lexington Christian, +5; 12. Andrew Perry, George Rogers Clark, +5; 13. Parker Geldhof, Lexington Christian, +5; 14. Wyatt Merkins, Scott County, +5.
Top teams (top two advance to state tournament): 1. Madison Central, +3; 2. Frederick Douglass, +16; 3. Lexington Catholic, +19; T4. Lexington Christian +22; T4. George Rogers Clark, +22; 6. Woodford County, +30; 7. Scott County, +34; 8. Frankfort, +37; 9. Great Crossing, +39; T10. Paul Laurence Dunbar, +40; T10. Henry Clay, +40.
*Ties broken by playoff and/or tiebreaker rules.
Boys state championship
Wednesday: First round at Eagles Nest Country Club in Somerset
Oct. 7-9: Final round at Bowling Green Country Club
This story was originally published September 26, 2024 at 11:06 AM.
