WASHOUGAL — Noah Larson had aspirations of playing in the final group Tuesday on the final day of the Class 2A district boys golf tournament at Orchard Hills Golf Club.
The Columbia River junior was in third place with a first-round 74 on Monday. But teammate Jack Kendrick shot a 69, and rules stipulated that teammates could not be together in the final group.
So Larson played in the next-to-last group, and shot the round of his life.
Larson shot a 4-under-par 67 to force a playoff with Centralia’s Von Wasson, who won the district title on the second playoff hole.
“I shot the best round of my life, and it couldn’t have been a neater round,” Larson said. “I went into a playoff, and Von beat me square.”
Larson shot his 67 with three birdies on the back nine, and he holed in two chips from off the green.
He almost chipped in a third on No. 18.
“I asked my coach ‘Do you know what Von is at?” Larson said, recalling a conversation he had on the 18th hole. “And he said ‘He’s two ahead of you.’ So I knew I had to hit a miracle. I hit a shot down the fairway. I chipped on, and it almost went in. So I got a birdie, and Von unfortunately three-putted (on No. 18).”
Both players finished with 141s, and that led to the playoff. On the first playoff hole, Wasson drove just short of the green, while Larson hit into a bunker on the left side.
Larson’s bunker shot left him 20 feet away from the hole, while Wasson’s chip left him with a makable birdie putt. But Wasson left that putt short, and Larson escaped with a par to go to a second playoff hole.
Again, Wasson’s shot was within eight feet, while Larson was about 18 feet away. Larson putted close, and when Wasson’s birdie putt again was off the mark, it looked like a third playoff hole would be coming.
But Larson missed his par putt, and Wasson sank his for the win.
“To be honest, I was more nervous on 18 when I had to make birdie to get into a playoff than I was on the playoff,” Larson said. “I just tried to play it like I would in a normal round, and I didn’t play up to what I would have hoped to. I just went out there and tried to give it my all.”
The runner-up finish helped Columbia River capture its third consecutive district title as the Rapids outdistanced second-place Washougal. Kendrick finished fourth at 144. Woodland’s Dane Huddleston rallied with a 68 on Tuesday to finish third at 143.
So, all in all, it was a pretty good day for Larson, even if he didn’t get to play in that final group.
“I wanted all the people watching,” Larson said. “But I guess I got the people watching on the playoff holes, so my goal was reached in the end.”
