Pictured above- Southeast of Saline’s Adam Thiel (left) and Sacred Heart’s Will Tuttle wait to tee off in a playoff for first place in the NCAA League Tournament Tuesday at Salina Municipal Golf Course.
That Sacred Heart’s boys would capture yet another NCAA League Tournament championship was a foregone conclusion.
The individual medalist honor, on the other hand, required some overtime work for the Knights.
But in the end, Sacred Heart senior Will Tuttle secured a clean sweep for the Knights with a birdie on the first playoff hole Tuesday to hold off Southeast of Saline’s Adam Thiel at Salina Municipal Golf Course.
It was the first individual league title for Tuttle, leading a dominant performance by the Knights, who claimed six of the top seven spots on the way to a winning four-man score of 315. Beloit was a distant second at 358 and Southeast of Saline placed third with a 361 total.
Tuttle and Thiel were tied at the top of the leaderboard after shooting 5-over-par 75 through 18 holes on a windy day at the Muni and headed to No. 10 for what would be a short playoff.
Tuttle reached the green in two shots and had a 15-foot putt for eagle, and Thiel chipped to within five feet for a birdie attempt. When Thiel’s birdie putt rimmed out, Tuttle sank a three-footer for the victory.
Sacred Heart senior Will Tuttle
“I felt pretty good,” Tuttle said of the victory. “My irons and wedges were really good the whole day. Some putts fell, too, but mostly my irons and wedges.”
Thiel, also a senior, was the leader in the clubhouse in the first group to finish, and Tuttle made a short par putt on No. 18 to force the playoff. While happy to tie for top score, Thiel had hoped to play better on his home course.
Southeast of Saline senior Adam Thiel
“Here, I normally shoot about par,” Thiel said.
Still, it was a good preview for the postseason for Thiel, with Southeast of Saline set to play host to a Class 3A regional tournament Monday at Salina Municipal.
“The regional is here, so I’m pretty excited about that,” he said.
Other than Thiel forcing a playoff, the day belonged to Sacred Heart. In addition to Tuttle, the Knights produced the only other sub-80 score with junior Ethan Newell shooting 78 for third place. Senior Benn Marrs was fourth with a 10-over 80, while freshman Jake Koksal and junior Dominic Matteucci tied for fifth at 82 and senior Cody Burr finished with an 83 in seventh place.
Lyons’ Noah Greeves (85) and Beloit’s Carter Jermark (86) and Kash Kemmerer (86) rounded out the top 10.
While Southeast of Saline is home for its regional tournament, Sacred Heart begins its quest for a record 11th straight 2A state championship Monday in the Cair Paravel regional at Topeka’s Western Hills Golf Course. The 2A state tournament is May 26-27 at Quail Ridge in Winfield.
