Braden Schnaible started a long day of golf in Statesboro on Tuesday as he played 10 holes at the Georgia Southern University Golf Course in a qualifier for the Club Car Championship that was cut short Monday due to rainy weather.
The senior from The Habersham School didn’t have his ‘A’ game in the morning, as he was 2-over par for the 10 holes to complete a round of 75 that fell short of making the cut to play in this weekend’s Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club.
But he had plenty in the tank for an 18-hole round in the afternoon as he shot a 2-under par 69 at Bacon Park Golf Course to win the Savannah City High School Golf Championship for the second year in a row.
Schnaible had two birdies and an eagle in his round as he beat a pair of Benedictine freshmen in Finn Nixon, who shot 71 along with Lane Morris of St. Andrew’s. Benedictine freshman Alex Dao carded a 72, while Caden Hartley of Savannah Country Day had a 73 and his teammate Kohki Maeda shot 75.
On the 452-yard, par-5 No. 10, Schnaible blasted a driver and then dialed in a 9-iron to about three feet to set up a tap in for eagle. He had birdies on the par-4 No. 5 with an approach from 108 yards to eight feet and the at the par-3 No. 14, where he drained an 18-foot putt featuring a big break.
“I think my driver was one of my strengths today, even though I only hit a few fairways,” Schnaible said. “I was still hitting them close and leaving myself in good spots. And I was hitting my approaches well — I think I hit 16 of 18 greens (in regulation) on the day.”
Schnaible went on to win the GAPSS Division II State Tournament to close out his junior season last year, and is looking to win it all again as a senior — but he said winning the Savannah High School City Championship again was special.
“This feels really good and it means more to me than the state title because you’re going up against the top players in Savannah,” he said. “I played well today. Now I’ll play in the Statesboro Blue Devil Invitational, and then in the region and state tournaments before ramping things up in the summer.”
Benedictine won the team title with its “B” squad as the “A” team was playing in the Larry Nelson Invitational at Atlanta Country Club. The Cadets got strong showings from Nixon and Dao as Elliott Moody (76) and Christopher Butler (79) also contributed to the team score of 298. Habersham and Savannah Country Day tied for second with a team score of 302.
Nixon is 5-foot-6 and weighs 120 pounds and hits his driver about 260 yards. He had two birdies and made a 40-footer to save par on the par-3 No. 9.
“It felt good to shoot a low score in a big event like this,” Nixon said. “I’m just trying to get better and move up with the team.”
In the girls competition, Savannah Arts freshman Maya Lilja-Vazquez won the title with a 1-over par 36 over the front nine. Savannah Christian senior Ava Cottis, who has signed with the University of North Florida, was second with a 37. Savannah Country Day’s Kate Barber, an Auburn signee, was tied for third with Ainsley Sheffield of St. Vincent’s as both shot 38. Savannah Christian won the team title as Caroline Burroughs contributed with a 44.
Lilja-Vazquez had two birdies on the round. She drove the green on the 240-yard No. 6 and two-putted and followed up on the next hole with a nine-iron approach to 12 feet on the challenging 399-yard par-4.
“I was a little intimidated playing with Ava and Kate because they are really good players with college scholarships and I had never played with them before,” Lilja-Vazquez said. “But they were very nice and fun to play with. I’m really excited to win the tournament playing with a lot of the best private school golfers. This is my first year playing high school golf, so I’m just grateful for the opportunity.”
Lilja-Vazquez plays out of The Landings and plays for the SCCPSS District team since Savannah Arts doesn’t have enough players to field a full squad. She will compete as an individual in a Class 2A Regional tournament with a chance to qualify for the Class 2A State tournament in May.
2025 Savannah City Golf High School Championship
At Bacon Park GC
Boys
Top team scores (top 4 individuals count toward team score)
Benedictine (298)
Alex Dao — 72
Finn Nixon — 71
Elliott Moody — 76
Will Routhier — 83
Jack Cetti — 84
Christopher Butler — 79
Habersham (302)
Braden Schnaible — 69
Hayden Price — 77
Kyle Price — 77
Tyler Shippy — 79
Lucien Warenzak — 91
Ronin Warenzak — 83
Savannah Country Day (302)
Caden Hartley — 73
Kohki Maeda — 74
Noah Goldstein — 88
Miles CVaught — 96
Thomas Claiborne — 75
Hunter Goldstein — 80
St. Andrew’s (362)
Top scores:
Lane Morris — 71
Kirk Thomas — 91
Lanford Harris — 96
Savannah Christian (347)
Elliott Oliver — 75
Dawson Wells — 89
Jeremiah Eun — 108
Nick Gaines — 94
Steven Lee — 89
James Stevens — 105
Calvary Day (379)
Top score: Austin Pierce — 86
Veritas (430)
Top score: Tommy Sottile 90
GIRLS (Top 2 scores count toward team total)
Savannah Christian (81)
Ava Cottis — 37
Caroline Burroughs — 44
Charlotte Goodman — 51
Rylan Hurd — 60
Savannah Country Day (86)
Kate Barber — 38
Parker Hall — 48
Jillian Schmid — 53
St. Vincent’s (91)
Ainsley Sheffield — 38
Josslyn Heidik — 53
Hazel Marshall — 62
Kate Whitaker — 57
Veritas (122)
Olivia Pennington — 60
Annabelle Parks — 62
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
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