Varsity 541

PREP GOLF

Engle scorches field for 4A title

Phoenix senior cards record 10-under total to help boys team claim fourth straight trophy

Daniel Engle runs in some pretty fast company at Phoenix High, especially when you consider one of the senior's best friends is elite runner Elliott Jantzer.

But on Tuesday, Engle finally got to experience what it's like to be second to none — and the situation fit him just fine.

The 18-year-old Phoenix golfer dominated the field in record fashion during his two days at the Class 4A state tournament in Banks, posting back-to-back 67s to win the first individual boys golf title in school history.

"Elliott has like eight state titles right now and is about to get three or four more and it's always been a joke that I don't have one yet, so it's kinda nice to have one now," said Engle.

Regardless of the overall number, Engle certainly made his count during an unparalleled run at Quail Valley Golf Course. Engle's 10-under-par total of 134 established a new 36-hole record at the 4A level, eclipsing the previous best mark of 9-under set by Jayme Berkowitz of Brookings-Harbor in 2000. Engle was the only player in the tournament to shoot under par, and finished 12 shots better than runner-up Garrett Wisbaum of La Salle (2-over 146).

The Phoenix standout actually was at 11-under heading into the 18th hole Tuesday but wound up three-putting for a bogey. The all-division 36-hole record is 11 under set in 1995 by David Crowell of Crescent Valley.

"The first five minutes after that I was kinda bummed," added Engle, "but then I realized I'd won by 12 strokes so it was OK."

As gratifying as the individual accomplishment was for Engle, he was more excited that his team was able to earn the fourth-place trophy thanks to a second day of steady play from sophomore Alex Hobson, senior Austin Campoy and junior Nick Galbreath.

"You'd think I'd probably be pretty excited about the individual title but to tell you the truth, us getting a team trophy was huge," he said. "You can't really expect or wish for anything better for today, especially with the team playing so well. Winning was a big goal of mine, but getting a team trophy is incredible."

After sandwiching a state crown in 2007 with runner-up showings last year and in 2006, the Pirates struggled to put together good rounds for the first half of the season. They needed a late surge in Skyline Conference play to even qualify for team play at the state level but, once there, the Pirates turned in their two best marks of the season at 319 and 316 for a 635 total.

"Every goal we had was met," said Phoenix boys golf coach Kyle Walker. "We had a goal to get to the state tournament as a team and we got there. We said if we got there, getting a trophy would be neat and we got fourth. And for the last four years I've been able to watch Dan Engle play and his level of commitment was second to none and so our third goal was to get Dan to win a state championship and we accomplished that, too."

Hobson followed an opening-round 82 with an 81 to finish tied for 31st at 163, while Campoy and Galbreath each went 85-84 for a two-day total of 169 to finish tied for 46th.

As solid as those marks were for the Pirates, nothing could compare to what Engle was able to accomplish over his two days at state.

"I never saw him miss a shot in the whole tournament," said Walker. "He hit the ball as well as he's ever hit it."

"There wasn't any certain stretch of holes or anything that were key for him," added the coach, "it was just consistent good golf for 36 holes. He had no weaknesses over the last two days. He dominated the field."

Engle's game had been coming around in recent weeks, which gave him some confidence heading into the tournament. After finishing as high as second as a sophomore — he was fourth last year and seventh as a freshman — Engle said he was determined to give it his all in his final high school tourney.

"I've been playing and swinging pretty good all year but never really able to put together the rounds I was capable of," he said of his senior season. "My putting just kind of came together and I just decided to play the course and not worry about what everyone else was doing while I was up here. I just happened to get lucky and have two pretty good days."

Luck may have played some part in his performance, but not all. Engle had seven birdies and two bogeys in each of his two rounds, posting a scorching 5-under 31 on the front nine Monday and coming home in 3-under 33 on Tuesday.

"This course set up to me exactly like Centennial, just a little shorter in distance," Engle said of his home course — and workplace — here in the Rogue Valley. "I guess I just felt pretty comfortable on it because of that."

Engle began his opening round with three straight birdies and had hoped to get off to a similar start Tuesday, but was only even-par through seven holes. Birdies on hole Nos. 8, 9 and 10 helped get him going, and a chip-in from 40 yards out at the par-4 12th hole might have been his finest moment.

"That was probably the best shot of the tournament for me," said Engle of the 56-degree wedge shot holed for a birdie 3.

Prior to that shot, Engle said he had hit "one of my worst drives of the tournament" and then came up well short on his long-iron approach shot. Facing a tight green and tough pin placement, he delicately lofted his chip shot at the pin and watched it check up twice before spinning into the hole for birdie.

"I thought I was going to make bogey there because that was a pretty tough chip," said Engle, "and ending up holing it like that ... I felt like I got away with one there."

CLASS 4A BOYS

At Quail Valley, Banks

TEAM SCORES — Brookings-Harbor 311-315—626, La Salle 310-321—631, Marist 315-317—632, Phoenix 319-316—635, Henley 323-316—639, Newport 330-323—653, Sisters 338-317—655, Gladstone 321-339—660, Scappoose 332-329—661, La Grande 331-334—665, Seaside 339-336—675, McLoughlin 345-337—682, Taft 356-357—713, Siuslaw 368-349—717.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 10) — 1, Daniel Engle, Phoenix, 67-67—134; 2, Garrett Wisbaum, La Salle, 70-76—146; T3, Cole Cannard, Estacada, 73-75—148, and Ross Martin, Newport, 74-74—148, and Ryan Melnychuk, North Valley, 76-72—148; 6, Jack Pennington, Marist, 73-77—150; T7, Neal Hammond, Banks, 73-79—152, and Corey Owen, Marist, 78-74—152; T9, Myron Clements, Henley, 76-77—153, and Cooper Howard, Brookings-Harbor, 79-74—153, and Garrett Schwietert, North Valley, 75-78—153.

Local Teams

PHOENIX (635) — 1, Daniel Engle, 67-67—134; T31, Alex Hobson, 82-81—163; T46, Austin Campoy, 85-84—169; T46, Nick Galbreath, 85-84—169.

Local Individuals

T53, Carmen Oliveri, Hidden Valley, 83-89—172.

Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail khenry@mailtribune.com