Othello freshman captures state championship on the link
Rodney Harwood/Hagadone Newspaper Group - Othello freshman Patrick Azevedo hits his pitch shot from the hillside on the ninth hole at The Creek at Qualchan during the 2A boys' state tournament on May 24. Azevedo claimed the state medalist honor.
SPOKANE — Patrick Azevedo looked down for a minute searching for the right words to describe the moment. Finding none, he looked up and then out to The Creek at Qualchan Golf Course like maybe the links would provide the answer.
“To tell you the truth, I can’t tell you how I’m feeling right now,” said Azevedo, who shot 4-over-par 76 on Wednesday, May 24 to win the boys 2A medalist honors by two strokes over Chase McIntosh of Liberty. “It’s been my goal, my lifelong dream, to win this tournament and now that I have, I don’t know how to describe it.”
It was a week of firsts for the Huskies freshman, who won with a two-day score of 73-76-149 in his first season of varsity golf. He’d never played in a two-day tournament before, let alone sat on an overnight lead. He’d never gone against this type of golf talent before, never had to hold his swing together this long, never had to mentally overcome as much as he did on the back nine where every single swing mattered.
He’d been riding on the Othello vision all season: “It’s not the way you start, it’s the way you finish that matters.” His championship round could have gone out the window in the first three holes Wednesday when he started with bogey, then doubled the next two holes after that for a 5-over par start through three. Azevedo managed to par the remaining six holes on the front to make the turn at plus-5.
His turnaround came on the ninth hole when his approach shot bounced twice in the middle of the green, then hopped up the embankment in a treacherous spot on a knoll 25 feet behind the green. The next shot would determine if he would continue to play for the medalist honors or just finish out his 2017 season.
More than one golfer from previous groups faltered on that same tricky little pitch shot. Flop shots went long leaving 30-foot putts for par. Bumps with an iron or a putter stuck in the fringe, well short. Azevedo lofted a nice pitch to within five feet and salvaged par for what proved to be the turning point.
“My driver was on today. I think I only missed three or four fairways,” he said. “I ended up shooting 1-under on the back. Putting was the key. I made a nice 30-foot birdie putt on the back. At this level, if you have a birdie chance you have to make it.”
For Azevedo, it was his first. For Ephrata senior, Sean Couture, it was his third and final trip to the elite tournament. He finished 79-84-163 to finish 26th in the 42-man field.
“Patrick came out of nowhere, I’m happy for him,” Couture said. “It’s a great opportunity and the fact that I’ve been here three years is pretty unbelievable. I learned a lot about myself playing golf. It’s taught me how to be a man. Everything you want in life, you have to work for it.”
Ephrata senior John Rawleys shot 83-87-170 in the final golf tournament of his high school career.
“It’s just amazing to have the opportunity to play at this level. At a lot of schools, the golf program isn’t as good and the guys never get to experience this,” Rawley said. “To be able to come here with friends and the other golfers is just amazing.”
Liberty High School from Issaquah won the team championship (120 points). Columbia River was a distant second (86.5).
Othello senior Ben Garza played the final round of his high school career, shooting an 89 to miss the cut by five strokes. It was Garza’s second appearance at the 2A state golf championships.
For complete scores and team results log on to http://wiaa.com/golfscores.