Dynasties continue as GHSA determines state golf champions

Winning golf titles for the first time were the Hart County girls and Banks County girls. The LaGrange boys won their first title since 1950.

Teams in each classification competed in 36-hole tournaments conducted over two days.

Credit: Georgia High School Association

Credit: Georgia High School Association

Boys

Class 6A at Bentwater Golf Club, Acworth: Lambert placed all five boys within the top 25 and claimed their second state championship and first since 2015. Jake Spindler shot 73-72 to place fourth and Michael Washburne shot 76-72 to finish sixth and lead the Longhorns. Lambert shot 587 and beat Lowndes by eight strokes. The medalist was Columbus State signee Luke Friend of North Paulding, who fired rounds of 72-67 to earn a five-shot win over Mason Pate of Lowndes.

Class 5A at Jekyll Island: Lakeside Evans shot a 17-under 271 to finish at 556 and run away with its sixth state championship — its first since 2024. Lakeside’s Hamilton Coleman, a Georgia signee who is the reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion, tied with Newnan’s A.J. Salierno at 8-under 136 for first place. Coleman won in a playoff. Lakeside’s Sam Rogers was third and Bennett Wiggins finished fourth.

Class 4A at Savannah Golf Club: Bodie Brumlow shot 65-69 to run away with medalist honors and help Cartersville successfully defend its state championship. The Purple Hurricanes shot a 14-over 582 and earned an 18-shot win over North Oconee. Cartersville’s Reid Henson and Marist’s Brooks Adams shot 143 to tie for second place.

Class 3A at Highland Country Club, LaGrange: Led by medalist Saxon Chastain, LaGrange won its first state championship since 1950, nipping Richmond Academy by one shot. The Grangers shot 618, one better than Richmond Academy and four shots ahead of defending champion West Laurens. Chastain shot 3-over 147 to score a two-shot win over North Hall’s Tanner Seabolt and West Laurens’ Braceton Beasley. The difference for LaGrange was Drew Burch, who shot a final-round 77 — 10 shots better than the first day.

Class 2A at Okefenokee Country Club, Blackshear: Pierce County used its depth to claim its fourth state title and first since 2017. The Bears were led by Hardt Strickland, who finished fourth at 13-over 157. Bennett Puryear (sixth) and Barrett Moore (seventh) also cracked the top 10. The medalist was junior Monty Thakur of Columbus, who shot 4-over 148 and won by six shots over teammate Ethan Pham and Isaiah Price of Burke County.

Class A Division I at Arrowhead Pointe, Elberton: Senior Madden Drake shot 15-over 159 to finish ninth and help Elbert County successfully defend its championship. The Blue Devils shot 643 and won by eight shots over Jeff Davis. The medalist was Colten Lewis of Swainsboro, who shot 69-71 — 140 to finish eight strokes ahead of Bremen’s Griffin Barnett.

Class A Division II at Willow Lake, Metter: Led by medalist Eli Tiller, Lake Oconee Academy ran away from the field and earned its second straight championship. The Titans shot 13-over 581 to win by 60 shots over runner-up Metter. Lake Oconee was led by Eli Tillery (second, 1-over 143) and Poli Medrano, Tucker Littleton and Michael McNulty, who tied for third at 146. The medalist was Jack Palmer, a sophomore from Seminole County, who shot 71-70 and won by two strokes.

Class A-3A Private at Nob North Golf Course, Cohutta: Jake Eason shot 6-under 138 to finish second and help Christian Heritage claim its third state championship. The Warriors finished at 8-over 584, with Mark Higgins (12th) and KT Seo (20th) cracking the top 20. Savannah Country Day (595), Mount Paran Christian (596), Aquinas (599) and Lovett (600) rounded out the top five. The medalist was Georgia Tech signee Brody McQueen of Mount Paran, who fired 69-65 to win by four strokes.

Girls

Class 6A at Bentwater Golf Club, Acworth: Lambert won its seventh straight state title, posting a 45-over 481 to edge Richmond Hill by four shots. The Longhorns were led by sophomore Grace Lee, who shot even-par 144 and successfully defended her title as medalist. Camden County’s Georgia Blount, a James Madison signee, finished second at 146, and Alexa Mohler of Richmond Hill was third at 148.

Class 5A at Jekyll Island: Johns Creek built a big first-round lead and hung on to win its third straight state championship. The Gladiators shot 2-over 218 Monday and finished at 23-over 455 to beat McIntosh by seven shots. Johns Creek was led by Aerin Kim, who finished second overall at 6-under 138, and Valentina Teran, who was 12th. The medalist was freshman Addison Peeples of Gainesville, who shot 8-under 136. Milton’s Aanya Vantipalli placed third at 3-under 141.

Class 4A at Crosswinds Golf Club, Savannah: North Oconee shot 488 and won its sixth straight state championship, beating Marist by 16 shots. The Titans had four girls place within the top nine — Kyler Hammond (fourth), Hailey Moffett (seventh), Lily Hinzman (eighth) and Olivia Weaver (ninth). The medalist was Ashlyn Taylor of Marist, who shot 4-over 148 and beat Delaney McFadden of Blessed Trinity by one shot.

Class 3A at Highland Country Club, LaGrange: Ava Brown finished seventh and Tyler Robinson finished eighth to lead Calhoun to the state title. Calhoun shot 359 and beat Southeast Bulloch and Jefferson, who tied for second and finished three shots back. It was Calhoun’s first championship since winning three in a row from 2015-17. The medalist was Pearl Hughes of Dawson County, who shot 78-70 and defeated Ariel Collins of Luella by two strokes.

Class 2A at Okefenokee Country Club, Blackshear: Hart County shot 41-over 329 to win its first state championship and end Pierce County’s run of four straight titles. Pierce was second at 337. The winning team was led by Emma Shiflet, who shot 158 and finished third. Maya Lilja-Vazquez of Savannah Arts Academy and Allie Nguyen of Columbus shared medalist honors at 9-over 153, both firing rounds of 73-80.

Class A Division I at Arrowhead Pointe, Elberton: Sophomore Tenley Manley finished third at 25-over 169 to help Banks County (350) outlast Dade County (362) and Bremen (363) to win its first state championship. Reinhardt signee Georgia Womack of Model and Rylee Brown of Dade County tied for medalist at 165, with Brown prevailing in a playoff.

Class A Division II at Willow Lake, Metter: Lake Oconee Academy won its eighth consecutive title, shooting an even-par 284 to beat runner-up Metter by 53 shots. The Titans swept the top four individual spots with senior Lili Nelson, a Georgia Southern signee, shooting 65-70 to finish at 7-under 135. Lily Dominy, Kensley Windham and Tianna Chiplock took the next four spots for Lake Oconee.

Class A-3A Private at Nob North Golf Course, Cohutta: Defending champion Holy Innocents’ shot 2-under 142 to finish at 289 and take a seven-shot victory over Athens Academy. It was the third state title for the Bears, led by runner-up Molly Spector, who shot 7-under 137. The medalist was Georgia Southern signee Kathryn DeLoach of Athens Academy, who shot 64-71 to finish at 9-under 135. Narah Kim of Greater Atlanta Christian placed third at 6-under 138 and Leela Basole of Atlanta International was fourth at 3-under 141.