Their fifth-place finish wasn’t what they hoped for. Yet the experience of just playing in the state golf tournament for the first time was notable for the Washington-Liberty Generals.
The squad capped its best season in program history with a 324 team score on a chilly and windy day at the Virginia High School League one-day, 18-hole Class 6 state tourney Oct. 15. The event was held on the par-72 Norman course at the Lansdowne Resort in Loudoun County.
The Langley Saxons won with a 303 total.
Prior to the state tournament, Washington-Liberty finished second to Langley in a playoff at the 6D North Region tourney and defeated the runner-up Saxons in the Liberty District championships. The Generals opened the campaign by winning the three-team Arlington County championship.
All of those finishes were team bests, giving the Generals its best season in school history.
“We had a fantastic season, to win district and finish second in the region,” W-L coach Michael Wilkis said. “This was our first experience in a state tournament. To get that experience for our young players, that could help us next season if we can get back here.”
One of those young players is junior Finn Watson. He had Washington-Liberty’s lowest individual score at the state tourney with a 77 and tied for eighth.
Watson said he had hoped to score lower.
“I made no birdies or putts,” Watson said. “I wasn’t hitting the ball well. My chipping saved me, or I could have shot in the 80s.”
Watson made eight pars and one bogey on the back nine, with two bogeys and a double bogey on the front.
Watson entered the state as the district champion and region runner-up. He was playing in the state tourney for the third time.
The 77 was his lowest state score, with an 82 as a freshman and 80 last fall his others.
Washington-Liberty sophomore Emmett Spence shot 79 to tie for 14th in this year’s state event. Senior James Hall shot 80, senior Malia Perry 88, sophomore Colin Hanley 88 and senior Quinn Breed 90.
“We wanted to do well, but this was a tough course today,” Breed said.
