North Augusta High School men’s golf team wins state championship

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - This season North Augusta High School earned the opportunity to host the South Carolina Class 4a State Boys Golf Championships.

After round one, the Yellow Jackets had a 14-shot lead on the rest of the field, putting them in a prime position to win state in Tuesday’s second and final round.

It was only a matter of time.

“Feels awesome. We’ve been trying to do this for two, three years now so finally get it done feels great and the individual is just icing on the cake,” said Davis Neal, senior.

The Jackets haven’t won a state championship in 40 years. The drought ended with a soaking negative 15 under- a new state record.

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Head coach, Travis Spears, said: “My own personal goal that I didn’t really share with many people was that I knew what that state record was. And I said it would be really nice to win and to set a state record.”

The Jackets stayed ahead off the club of Neal. He shot six under.

He spent the day battling for first with drive chip and putt champ, Tip Price, out of Greenville, S.C.

It came down to a playoff.

Neal is the first jacket to title individually since PGA Tour Player Matt Nesmith in 2012.

Neal said: “Dreams are made. That’s what we what we’ve been wanting to do all year. I’ve always felt like I had it in me but to finally do it here the last event it’s all I could ask for. I was thinking the whole day was just finishing just like I started. I don’t know if I’ll make it that far. But we’ll see how long we can go.”

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Spears said: “They can mentally handle playing well. And that’s tough. Sometimes, when you start playing well, for a lot of us, we get excited, and then things start to go awry. And when you see those numbers, it tells me the kids not only work on their game, but they work on being able to handle the pressure of playing well in on a big stage.”

The Jackets Luke Johnson finished third.

The Jackets finished 22 strokes clear of the field.

South Aiken High School finished fifth.

The Thoroughbreds Cameron Biddle finished tied for 11th with Aiken High School’s Richard Anaclerio.