It was not until teammate Spencer Ralston dropped an 18-foot birdie putt, that King even began thinking about his own championship hopes -- because by then he knew the Red Elephants' team title was on its way back to Gainesville.
"When Spencer made that birdie putt, it felt good; I knew we probably had it," King said.
Did they ever.
The Red Elephants claimed their second straight state title by nine strokes over home-standing Glynn Academy at Jekyll Island's Pine Lakes Golf Course, tying a school-record in the process with a 289 at the Class AAAAA championships. Meanwhile, Gainesville's girls finished tied for third in the girls Class AAAAA title round, firing a 250. (EDITOR'S NOTE: To read about more area golfers, scroll down.)
And while King just missed out on low-medallist honors, dropping a three-way, sudden-death playoff, his 2-under 70 proved the highlight of a day that saw Gainesville complete a perfect season with their 10th win in 10 tries.
"That's pretty special; that just doesn't happen," Red Elephants coach Bryson Worley said. "I'm kind of speechless to be honest... Really though it just speaks to the young guys and how hard they work. It speaks to all the guys. We ask a lot of them, and to see all their hard work pay off is incredible. We've got two seniors who didn't even play today that are going to play in college. They're the reason we're so deep."
(To watch video highlights of the day, click, "play" below.)
Gainesville Golf-Boys WIn State from WDUN TV on Vimeo.
Gainesville's youth was served on Monday, led by King's 70 -- his best competitive round of the year -- and fellow sophomore Nathan Williams' 74. Freshman Ralston also carded a 73 -- both he and Williams dropping long putts on 18 to finish strong and help ensure the victory. Junior Jackson Bishop also carded an even-par 72 to round out the scoring, with Pep Brown's 75 and Grant Lasseter's 76 not counting in the final tally.
"My teammates are awesome; they made me better every day," King said. "They made all of us better by pushing us."
That competition amongst teammates made for a stronger unit, and Worley noted that chemistry was a big factor in re-capturing the title last won in last year's Class AAA tournament (Gainesville boys golf also won titles in ).
"They're so close as a team, and that's important," Worley said.
Indeed, that fact was reflected by the lone senior Brown, who's final high school round wasn't even counted, as Gainesville claimed its seventh boys golf championship.
"Pep is the ultimate team player," Worley said. "He got done with his round, and the first thing he said to me was that he hoped his round didn't count."
"It was bittersweet," Brown said. "This was my last high school round. But I wouldn't want it any other way. I'm so pumped. We tied a school record. And then you come here and you get to throw out a 75 and a 76. That's pretty strong. Last year we would have counted those rounds."
Gainesville improved on last year's 294 and might have finished even stronger were it not for a lightning delay that sidetracked all players for an hour-and-a-half.
"At one point we were 7-under as a team," Worley said. "We knew the lightning delay was coming, and we were trying to get in as much as we could before it happened."
King dominated before the break, heading into the pause at 5-under, including an eagle at the par 5, No. 11, where he reached the green in two strokes before dropping a 20-foot putt to spark an astonishing start that included seven birdies.
"That was just the icing on the cake," King said. "The whole team played well today. That's the main thing."
Flowery Branch's boys also fired a 326 Monday, led by Eric Little's 78.
Gainesville's girls also enjoyed a strong day, led by Meg Callahan's 81. Lakeside, Evans won the girls crown with a 225 -- paced by Eunice Yi's 2-under 70. Madeline Harr also fired a 83, while Morgan Reece also carded a 86. Freshman Ashleigh Bishop also fired a 87.
"We knew that it was going to be tough; there was a great field out there today," Gainesville girls coach Clay McDonald said. "The girls improved over last year, and I'm proud of them for that.
"Hopefully this propels them forward. They know what last year feels like, and they know what this feels like, and there's a stark difference between the two. Some of them start on the next season tomorrow with junior tournaments and the junior golf season, and I hope this keeps them hungry."
Gainesville's boys will also focus, looking at a third successive championship.
"We were talking today about what we needed to fix under pressure," Worley said. "And we're going to start working on that soon."
Gainesville had not even climbed down from the medal podium yet when Worley spoke up: "workouts start tomorrow." Worley may only have been half joking, but there were no half-efforts for Gainesville on Monday.
NOTES: North Hall's boys were led by Hunter Young's 75 in the boys Class AAA final on Monday. "It was a good building block," Trojans coach Robert Mills said. "We've got a young team, and they competed hard today. We're disappointed, but we played hard." ... West Hall's girls, playing in their first state tournament, finished seventh in Class AAA. Senior Malorie Smith led the charge for the Lady Spartans, shooting a round of 83 -- including a hole-in-one from 121 yards on No. 16 of the Chateau course at Chateau Elan. ... Lakeview Academy's John Jacobs, IV also played as an individual on Monday, carding an 84. He is the first Lions golfer to ever compete at state. ... The Lumpkin County girls golf team took 13th place at the Class AAAA state tournament at Nob North Golf Club in Cohutta. In her final round, Morgan Wood led the Lady Indians with a 91 to finish tied for 14th place individually. Additionally, Taylor Gooch shot a 107 and Haley Dibble rounded out the scoring with a 128. Also competing for the team was Hannah Fowler. ... The Banks County Lady Leopards golf team placed third in Class AAA at Chateau Elan with a team score of 272. Cara Gowder shot an 83, Morgan Rylee with an 85 and Jody Milford with a 104. Gowder also placed eighth individually, and Rylee placed 10th.
