CLEVELAND -- After going toe-to-toe with North Hall junior Clay Hoffman over the final four holes of regulation, White County senior Eli Crumley made par on the first playoff hole to edge Hoffman for the Region 7-AAA individual boys golf title Wednesday at the Par 70, 5,985-yard Mossy Creek Golf Course.
Crumley and Hoffman both fired 4-over par 74s to tie for the lead but Hoffman's approach shot on the first playoff hole on the Par 4 10th sailed long opening the door for Crumley.
"My heart jumped a little when I saw his ball because it looked like it was right at the flag but then just rolled off the green," Crumley said. "I just tried to put my shot on the green to make par. Fortunately I was able to get a par to win it.
"It's just an amazing feeling to win it as a senior. I thought we both played pretty well, especially at the end. Neither one of us wanted to mess up so I think that kept us focused."
Crumley's 74 helped the Warriors capture the team title with a score of 313, which automatically qualifies them for the state tournament. Teams must shoot a 340 or better at region to qualify for state and sectionals.
Buford finished with a 323 to take second and North Hall fired a 328 for third and both teams qualified for the Class AAA Sectionals May 6 at Cateechee Golf Course in Hartwell.
Dawson County shot a 351 for fourth but did not shoot low enough to advance.
White County coach Darren Sledge said he thought the group responded to the pressure of being the team to beat coming into the tournament.
"The guys really rose to the challenge," Sledge said. "We played really well on the front-nine. That's probably where we won it. We're very pleased to make the state and we have a month or so to improve and see if we can get a couple of more guys to lower their scores to give us a shot at state."
In the individual tournament, Crumley had the lead at the turn with with a 1-over 35 and started the back nine with a birdie on No. 10 to drop to even-par. But three consecutive bogeys would drop him from the lead while Wysocki would birdie No. 13 to grab the lead at 2-over. The Warriors' Garrett Rowland also caught fire getting to 3-over at No. 13 while Hoffman was at 4-over thru No. 13 to create a log-jam with just five holes left.
Crumley said he felt things slipping away after his third bogey.
"I was just looking for anything positive to happen. I was kind of down for a couple of holes," he said.
The first break for Crumley came at No. 14 when Wysocki would take a double-bogey and then Crumley shot his way out of a mess on No. 15 dropping a beautiful second shot from the trees to within 15-feet of the hole to help save par.
"That really got me going," Crumley said. "I got some confidence back. If I don't make that shot I don't win the tournament."
Hoffman, meanwhile, remained steady and would drain a long birdie putt on No. 15 to tie Crumley and Rowland for the lead. Rowland, a sophomore, would fall out of contention on the next hole, however, when he took a tough triple-bogey, his second of the day, on No. 16 to fall three shots back with two to play.
"Garrett played very well except for two holes," Sledge said. "If not for the two triples he wins the thing by a couple of strokes."
"I had a bad tee-shot on No. 16 and I wasn't able to play the hole the way I know how," Rowland said. "I was playing pretty steady until then. It's disappointing because I was one shot from maybe winning it but really my goal was to help the team win. We did that and now we get to go to state."
Over the final four holes Crumley and Hoffman matched three pars and both bogeyed No. 18 as no one in the final group found the green on the 180-yard Par 3 with a chance to win it in regulation.
"I don't know if we were nervous but it was strange that none of us hit it on (the green)," Hoffman said. "I thought I played pretty well overall. I would like to have my second shot back on the playoff hole but that happens. I was pleased overall."
Wysocki and Garrett would tie for third with a 6-over 76s. Buford's Taylor Mitchell, North Hall's Hunter Young, and Brynnan Adams of White County would tie for fifth with 10-over par 80s.
Friday
February 7th, 2025
9:23PM
