It might have seemed like a pressure-packed situation for Benedictine golfer Bear Dollander in his first round of the Class 4A State Tournament on Monday as Georgia coach Chris Haack and Alabama coach Jay Seawell were on hand to watch his first round at the Governors Towne Club in Acworth.
But the sophomore southpaw has nerves of steel. He shot a 30 on his back nine (the front nine of the course) en route to an opening round 66, and then followed up with a 68 on Tuesday to finish at 10-under par and win the individual state title.
Dollander can’t legally talk with college coaches until June, but he sent a strong message with his stellar performance. He beat Blake Goodroe of Madison County and Dalton’s Cole Stockard by four shots to take medalist honors a year after finishing second as a freshman.
Benedictine finished in third place with a 7-over-par team score of 583, 11 shots back of Cartersville and eight behind runnerup North Oconee.
Sophomore Jack Weeks shot 72-76—148 to finish 23rd and Hamp Threlkeld and Chad Chadwell both had two-day totals of 153 (9-over par) to tie for 28th.
“It feels really good to put two good rounds together back-to-back like that,” Dollander said in a phone interview driving back to Savannah on Tuesday evening. “To beat the best players in Georgia in a competitive tournament like that gives me a big confidence boost going into the summer. There wasn’t anything really crazy with my play with one aspect of my game standing out. I actually felt like I left a few shots out there, but that’s how golf is. I had a good, solid tournament.
“But I would trade this any day for a team title. And we’re going to be back next year firing on all cylinders trying to bring a ring back for the whole team.”
Richmond Hill’s Ledger Conley won a state crown of his own as the junior took home medalist honors in the Class 6A tournament. He shot 69-70—139 to finish at 5-under par at the Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta.
Conley helped lead the Wildcats to a fourth place finish with a two-day team score of 600, 24-over par. Conley beat Harrison’s Kaiden Drum and Lambert’s Sahish Reddy by three strokes to win.
Wildcat junior Patrick Mahaffey shot 76-71—147 to finish at 3-over par in a tie for ninth, while teammate Matthew Reynolds was tied for 19th with a 72-79—151.
Ledger said his drives and wedges were good, but his work on the greens made the difference and credited his new Scotty Cameron Super Select putter.
“Putting was one of my highlights in this tournament,” he said. “I was making a lot of birdies. This win means a lot to me because one of my main goals entering high school was to win a state tournament. I’ve been going through a stretch where I’ve been playing bad the last few holes — so to close this one out to win is going to give me a big confidence boost.”
Savannah Country Day freshman Kohki Maeda had a strong showing in the Boys Private School Tournament as he shot 73-75—148 to finish in a tie for eighth at Twin City Country Club.
In the girls tournaments, Richmond Hill had the best team finish as the Wildcats placed third in the Class 6A tournament at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club.
Sophomore Alexa Mohler shot 82-74 — 156 to finish in eighth place, one spot ahead of her teammate Amanda Puchales, who carded 76-82 — 158. Sophomore Isabella Romine shot 180 over the two-day event.
“We played a tough schedule with a lot of tough tournaments this season and that prepared us well for the state tournament,” Wildcat coach Ethan Huff said. “We weren’t out of our element and that took some of the pressure off. I’m really proud of the way the girls played this year and this week. And we’ve got everyone coming back, so we’re looking forward to next year.”
In the Girls Private School Tournament, Savannah Country Day’s Kate Barber finished sixth as the senior shot 72-78 — 150 to finish sixth in her final high school tournament. She has signed to play at Auburn in the fall.
Savannah Christian’s Ava Cottis shot 76-79 — 155 to finish in 10th place. The senior is headed to play at the University of North Florida.
In the Class 2A girls tournament, Savannah Arts Maya Lilja-Vazquez freshman shot 79-85 — 164 and finished second, eight strokes behind the winner, Mackenzie Connell of Pierce County.
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
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