NEW BLOOMFIELD — Bubba Chapman wanted no part of sharing this time around.
The Chaminade senior sank a birdie putt on Hole No. 18 to secure a sizzling two-day total of 7-under-par 137 and claim a one-stroke victory in the Class 5 boys golf championships Tuesday at Meadow Lake Acres Country Club.
The outright state title comes on the heels of Chapman finishing in a three-way tie atop the leaderboard last spring.
“It means a lot,” said Chapman, a Mizzou signee. “There was a certain amount of pressure just having played well last year and there’s expectations. Having tied last year, it was definitely a goal to see if I could win this one by myself.”
Chapman bested his 3-under 69 in Monday’s first round with a 4-under 68 on Tuesday. He needed every last one of those saved strokes to finish just ahead of the 6-under 139 posted by Liberty North junior Caden Mickelson — one of the two other players Chapman shared the state title with last season.
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“He wanted it badly and I’m so proud of him,” Chaminade coach Jack Wilson said. “He gets to state and things just get rolling for him, so I knew I could count on him. He is a student of the sport. He knows everything about it. And he just works and works and works.”
Chapman’s spectacular round Tuesday featured four birdies, including the one he needed to match Mickelson’s birdie on 18 and avoid another tie, even if he had no idea where things stood.
“I knew nothing. I just knew I wanted to make a birdie,” Chapman said. “No matter what the situation was, I was going to try to hit a perfect putt with perfect pace. The reaction I got from all my friends on that putt was super fun. At that point, I thought that putt was pretty big.”
Chapman had just three bogeys over 36 holes at Meadow Lake Acres, including just one on No. 15 that trimmed a two-stroke lead down to one approaching the final stretch.
“This golf course is not crazy difficult and there were a couple times I felt like I kind of got away with a little bit of a mishit or not a great swing,” Chapman said. “But today there were probably four or five times where I was staring bogey in the face and made a six or seven-footer to make par, so that was big.”
First-round leader Shuert ties for third
Thomas Shuert had the round of his life Monday with a 6-under 66 to take a three-shot lead into the final round, where the Marquette junior posted a 2-over 74 to finish with a two-day total of 4-under 140 and in a tie for third place with Joplin senior Harry Satterlee.
“I had a lot of friends and family that texted me last night just telling me they were praying for me,” Shuert said. “I just think that’s so cool for people to say stuff like that.”
Shuert was hoping to avoid any type of nerves Tuesday, but he said the jitters got to him for a while to start the final round, as he shot a 2-over 38 on a front nine that featured a bogey and a double bogey on consecutive holes.
“I was really nervous on the first six holes,” he said. “I made a few big numbers, which kind of killed me, but finishing off with an eagle on the last hole was fun.”
Despite not getting the finish he was hoping for, Shuert was still happy with his two-day performance and was already looking forward to getting ready for what could be a stellar senior season.
“I’ll be back, hopefully” he said. “Just getting top three as a junior is a big statement for next year. Big expectations, but I think I can meet it.”
Three-pack at 3-under
A trio of area sophomores — CBC’s Cole Hendrix, Liberty’s Cole Packingham and SLUH’s Harrison Zipfel — all came in just one shot back of Shuert at 3-under 141 to finish tied for fifth.
Hendrix tied for 41st in Class 5 with a 156 last season, so this week’s effort represented an improvement of 15 strokes and 36 places, as he topped Ian Blome’s seventh-place showing in 2018 for the Cadets’ best-ever finish by an individual.
“Last year was fun, but I was just trying to get experience. This year, I kind of changed things up. I was happy to be out there, and I just happened to shoot well,” he said. “I’d say putting carried most of it. I couldn’t lag putt, but everything inside of 12 feet was almost automatic, which helped a lot.”
Packingham achieved all-state status (top 15) as a freshman last spring with an 11th-place showing in Class 5, but after a second-round 78 that followed a 71 last season, he went from 72 in Monday’s first round to a strong 3-under 69 on Tuesday.
“The ultimate change was I made more putts today. I hit the driver great and the short game was great, but I just made a few putts from distance,” he said. “I’ve been working hard in the offseason. It feels great with the first two years so far. Work hard again in the offseason and come back next year to see what we can do.”
Zipfel briefly held a late lead at last year’s Class 5 meet before a tough final few holes left him with a final-round 75 and a sixth-place finish. This year, he posted a consistent showing of 70 and 71, but he was still left wanting for a little more.
“It was a struggle. I think I left a lot of shots out there,” he said. “I couldn’t quite get the pace of the greens and couldn’t figure out my landing spots. I couldn’t make putts. It was as simple as that.”
Mazzola, Vilela tie for eighth
Dominic Mazzola and Nick Vilela were both left just on the outside looking in when it came to an all-state finish in Class 5 last season, but they left no doubt this time around.
Mazzola, a Marquette senior, and Vilela, a SLUH freshman, carded matching two-day totals of 2-under 142 to finish tied for eighth this season.
Mazzola missed the all-state cut by just one stroke last year, but his first-round 69 left him in good shape heading into the final round, where he posted a 73 in what will be his final round of competitive golf.
“I’m happy with it,” he said. “The first day, I played well. The second day, I’m not mad about it, just maybe about my start (three straight bogeys on Holes 3-5). I’m just happy I was able to finish well (three birdies on the final four holes) and kept my head in it.”
Vilela finished 23rd in Class 5 last season, but his second go at state was even better, as he fired a 2-under 70 on the final day.
“Honestly, I hit the ball really well off the tee. I was playing a game with myself to not make any doubles this tournament (which he did not),” he said. “Putting could have been a little better and I left some strokes out there.”
Ewing cracks top 10 in state debut
Eric Ewing didn’t play at state with Chaminade last season when the Red Devils claimed the Class 5 title, but the sophomore had a big hand in helping them repeat as team champions.
Ewing fired a 1-under 143 to tie Helias senior Dawson Schnieders for 10th place. They were the final two of an incredible 11 players to come in with two-day totals under par.
“It was fun. I got to do a lot of team stuff outside of just golf,” Ewing said. “The golf was fun, but it was a little stressful until I got off the first tee.”
Ace in the hole
Francis Howell freshman Kolton Kijanko’s first state tournament performance wasn’t bad — a 9-over 153 to finish tied for 39th.
But Kijanko will remember Tuesday forever for what happened on his second-to-last hole of the day when he sank a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th hole.
“There were just butterflies in my stomach and I started smiling big,” he said. “It was 190 (yards) uphill and I was thinking I just wanted to finish strong. I took my 4-hybrid and just went up to it and swung smooth and it went in.”
Kijanko couldn’t see it go in from where he was in the tee box, but he saw Vikings coach Carl Wayne put up his hands at the top of the hill and that’s when he knew it went in.
“I was actually waiting for the senior behind him because I was going t walk with him on his last hole of high school golf, so I watched it and there was no reaction,” Wayne said. “This is my 17th year of coaching golf and we’ve never had one in competition during my tenure. It was cool to see. Those are the moments that you really appreciate when you do this job.”
