High school golf: Syracuse wins 5A golf title

LAYTON — Heading into the 5A Utah High School Golf Championships, the Syracuse Titans weren't too concerned about their second-place finish this season in Region 1.

Despite not winning their league, the Titans still entered the state tournament believing they were the deepest and best golf team in Utah.

Tuesday, at Valley View golf course, the Titans proved it.

Behind 4-under-par 68 efforts from Colton Ogden and Jonathan Thomas, and an even-par 72 from Devon Purser, Syracuse expanded its three-stroke first-round lead into a 13-stroke victory over defending champion Lone Peak. The Fremont Silverwolves finished a distant third, 30 shots behind.

"We didn't feel like we played our best golf in the region matches, but we did this week. And to have our two best rounds of the year under these kind of conditions, on a tough golf course with so much on the line, against great competition, is quite a credit to our guys," Syracuse coach Brett Higgins said.

Also contributing to the Syracuse win were A. J. Dugger, Spencer Barber and Colton Dallimore. Dugger and Barber both shot 76 on Tuesday, and Dallimore shot 79, but his 73 on Monday was critical.

"The beauty of our team is we love our guys at the top, but we've had other guys making big contributions all year. And to have our four, five and six guys shoot the kind of scores they did today, it's just exciting to have that kind of depth," Higgins said.

The state title is especially rewarding for the Titans after finishing second two years ago and third last season, after entering last year's tournament as the favorites.

"We came in with maybe a little less pressure this year, but still knowing we had a pretty good team and a team good enough to win," Higgins said.

For Ogden, the Titans' No. 1 player, the championship is bittersweet. The Syracuse senior made a delicate 8-foot birdie on No. 17 and then a spectacular scrambling par on No. 18 to force a sudden-death playoff with Layton's Brandon Kida for the 5A medalist crown. Both finished the 36-hole event at 6-under par, one shot up on first-round leader Patrick Fishburn of Fremont.

On the first extra hole, however, Ogden pulled his tee shot out of bounds and Kida — with a perfect drive and solid iron shot into the green on the par-4 10th — needed only a two-putt par to take the individual title.

"These guys on my team are also my best friends, so it means a lot to win a team title with them," Ogden said. "And I've never won a state ring before, so to do that before I leave high school is pretty special. But it would have been nice to add the medalist on top of that."