RIDGEFIELD — Ian Spicer figured it was going to be his day when he birdied the first two holes Tuesday in the final round of the Class 4A District 4 boys golf tournament at Tri-Mountain Golf Course.
“Coming into the day, I was one down, and by the second hole, I already had the lead,” said Spicer, a senior from Union. “After the birdie-birdie start, I was thinking about winning it.”
In record style, too.
Spicer recorded seven birdies and an eagle, firing a school-record 5-under-par 67 to win the tournament with a two-day total of 139.
Camas freshman Brian Humphreys, the first-round leader, finished in second, five strokes off the championship pace.
“What are you going to do?” Humphreys asked with a shrug.
It wasn’t as if he lost the tournament. He played even par over two days.
“I got beat. He played a great round,” Humphreys said. “I played the best I could.”
In fact, Humphreys was still just two strokes down going to the 36th hole of the tournament after Spicer double-bogeyed No. 17 with a four-putt on the par-3.
Spicer then crushed his
drive on the par-5 18th, then hit a perfect 2-iron hybrid to within four feet of the cup. His rolled his eagle putt in for the 67.
“My grandfather told me he’d give me $50 for every birdie,” Spicer said, dollar signs in his eyes.
There was no discussion of how much an eagle would be worth.
None of that mattered to Spicer, though, who finished fourth in this tournament last year.
“This was my last high school district tournament,” Spicer said. “I had to finish big.”
Spicer had four birdies and a bogey on the front nine. He added three birdies and his eagle to go along with a double-bogey and bogey.
Humphreys was not complaining. He got a great view of Spicer’s day, playing in the same group. He also has three more years to chase down the district title.
“It was good that I got this experience so I know what I’ll have to work on for next year,” Humphreys said. “Pretty successful season, and I really like everybody on my team.”
Spicer’s performance led the Union Titans to their third consecutive district title. The team also has won 30 consecutive dual competitions during this run.
Union’s Eddie Abellar finished fourth. The team title is determined by a points system based on individual placings.
“After we lost Alistair Docherty (to graduation), a lot of people thought we weren’t going to be as good this year,” Abellar said. “To win league and to win district is a really big accomplishment, and it makes it really special.”
Sam Kille (6th), Reis Warman (9th), Will Kellogg (10th) and Tyler Copp (13) also helped the Titans to the team title.
Camas took second in the team race.
Chad Hall of Battle Ground finished third in the individual competition. Braeden Campbell of Camas rounded out the top five.
The district does not yet know how many golfers will advance to the state tournament in the spring. Last year, the top four golfers from this tournament automatically qualified for state. The next six went to a bi-district tournament for another opportunity to make it to state.
