CAMAS — As Camas junior Owen Huntington approached his ball just short of the green on the final hole of the day, his brother, freshman Eli, walked toward him.
“Owen, you need to get up and down for us to win,” Eli Huntington said.
Camas, however, had long since salted away the win over Ridgefield in the Titan Cup on Monday at Camas Meadows. And Owen Huntington knew it, so he ignored his brother.
“I’m used to that,” Owen Huntington said.
Owen Huntington then pitched the ball within 10 feet of the hole. He would eventually win the hole — and the match 2-up — when Ridgefield’s Cade Bringhurst later conceded Huntington’s par putt.
That gave Camas the win 6-2.
“It’s about time,” Camas coach Ed Givens said. “We’ve finished second at this thing the last couple of years.”
Givens said the Papermakers sealed the win in Monday’s final against Ridgefield early as Camas won the first five of eight singles matches.
“We’ve had some ups and downs, but I don’t we’ve played great as a team yet,” Owen Huntington said. “On our last day of tryouts, we shot as a team under par, but we haven’t done that yet in a match. So that’s kind of our goal.”
This is the 11th year that Union has hosted the Titan Cup. Union coach Gary Mills said this year’s edition was special because of the level of players.
“We have some great teams here this year,” Mills said. “But also, we’ve got some elite golfers out there.”
Mountain View’s Graham Moody helped the Thunder tie Union for third place by winning his singles match 5 and 4. In a nine-hole match, that means he won the first five holes, three with birdies.
It continued a run of play that includes shooting 10-under-par in his first two high school matches of the year.
“I have been playing well really since the second half of the summer,” Moody said. “I’ve just been eliminating bogeys. And when you do that, you can put up some good scores.”
On Monday, the four teams opened with nine holes of Chapman play.
Chapman play involves two-player teams in which both player hit drives. On the second shot, each player plays his teammates ball. From there, the team picks the best ball to finish the hole with each player alternating shots.
“It’s teamwork,” Owen Huntington said. “You’ve got to work together in that first match.”
Camas beat Mountain View 2 1/2 -1 1/2 in the opening round, and Ridgefield beat Union 3-1.
In the finals, it’s singles match play, which changes the approach players take on the course.
“It depends on what my opponents does,” Camas’ Caleb Shira said. “If he has a good shot, maybe I’ll play it safe. But if I feel like I can go for (a shot), I’ll attack and see if I can get a point.”
As Eli Huntington said: “Everything you do is based on what they do. And you have to assume they’re going to make their putt, no matter what.”
Even if you’re younger brother tries to fool you into thinking the match is on the line.
