MOULTRIE – When several members of the Area 1-champion Colquitt County golf team were asked what the key to Monday’s victory was, they answered – nearly in unison – “home-course advantage.”
The Packers shot a season-best 294 at their familiar Sunset Country Club then held off Harrison in a playoff to win Colquitt County’s first title since 2014.
Colquitt and Harrison will advance to the May 19-20 state championship tournament at Valdosta’s Kinderlou Forest Golf Club.
Lowndes, which was third at 297, and Richmond Hill, fourth at 308, will advance to the Sectional to be held May 5-6 at the Fairfield Plantation Golf Course in Villa Rica.
Camden County’s Randall James, who shot a 72, also will go to the state tournament after turning in the best round by a player on a non-qualifying team.
Heading into the tournament, the Packers best round had been the 296 they shot in the February 15 season-opening Camden Classic at Osprey Cove in Kingsland.
They also turned in a 297 when they won Valdosta’s Wildcat Invitational on February 24 at Stone Creek Country Club
Colquitt last played at Sunset on March 29, when the team shot a 301 in their Packer Invitational.
But the Packers beat that score handily on Monday.
Michael Hall shot a 72 and Cavin Hall, Leighton Hood and Jacob Rowell each shot 74.
There is not a senior in that quartet.
Michael Hall is the lone junior. Cavin Hall is a freshman and Hood and Rowell are sophomores.
Reese Hood shot a 78 and Peyton Collins a 79. Both are sophomores. Both finished in the top 20 even though their scores did not count in Colquitt County’s tally.
Michael Hall was named to the All-Tournament team.
He, Cavin Hall, Rowell and Leighton Hood finished in the top 10.
“They played their best at the right time,” coach Andrew Eunice said of his team.
The championship had to be especially gratifying for Rowell, who was playing his final tournament as a Packer at Sunset.
He is the son of Colquitt County’s former defensive coordinator Jeremy Rowell, who has taken a job as the defensive coordinator at Veterans High in Warner Robins next season.
Jacob is perhaps the team’s most improved player and he performed extremely well in the Area championship win, with his 74 a season-best.
Eunice is looking forward to his team’s appearance in the state tournament at Kinderlou Forest, where the Packers have already played three times – two matches and a tournament – this season.
Monday’s low score of 71 was turned in by three players.
But Lowndes freshman Camden Yager won the low medalist award by defeating Kaiden Drum and Zach Light, both of Harrison, in a playoff.
Yager had a par and Drum and Light each had a bogey.
In addition to the 71s turned in by Drum and Light, Harrison counted a pair of 76s shot by Jake Thompson and Sebastian Render.
Lowndes got the 71 from Yager, a 72 from Mason Pate, a 75 by Noah Davis and 79 from Kaleb Shiver.
For Richmond Hill, Patrick Mahaffey shot 73; Ledger Conley, 74; Will McNeely, 79; and Mathew Reynolds, 82.
Tift County finished fifth in the tournament with a 310.
The Blue Devils were followed by Camden County, 327; Hillgrove, 329; Campbell, 339; Valdosta, 371; and Paulding County 386.
McEachern entered one player, Nick Grimaldi, who shot an 80.