Lincoln Academy senior Malcolm Oliver won the State Class B Individual golf championship at Natanis in Vassalboro under windy conditions on Saturday. Oliver shot a one over 73 on the 18-hole Tomahawk course to win his first State championship.
Oliver shot five strokes better than five days before at the state team championships on the same course. The 73 was the best tournament score he has ever shot.
“He did a fantastic job. It shows how seriously he takes the game,” coach Todd Brackett said. Oliver hit four birdies on the day, which made up for a couple of double bogies.
“I made a lot of 10- to 15-foot putts for par and birdie. On the first hole I sank a 10 to 12-foot putt for birdie, and the next hole I made a 25-foot putt for par. I figured if I kept putting like that it would be a good day,” Oliver said.
On one hole, Oliver played the wrong ball from the fairway and didn’t discover it until he was about to putt for birdie from a foot out. Oliver discovered the Titleist 3 he had played was not his, as it was marked differently. Oliver called himself on the mistake and took a two-stroke penalty for double bogie. The ball Oliver played did not belong to any player in his group, but was an errant ball left on the course by another golfer.
“What are the chances of two Titleist 3s landing in the same spot?” Brackett said. “Calling himself on that says a lot for his integrity,” Brackett said.
“The best shot I hit (in the tournament) was with the wrong ball,” Oliver said of the 150-yard shot from the fairway that landed a foot from the cup on his eighth hole.
Oliver went on to birdie the next hole, hit for par, then birdied to get back to two under. He shot a 37 on the front nine, and a 36 on the back nine.
“When I got in I was ahead and there were only three groups left. I figured I had a pretty good chance,” Oliver said of winning the state championship.
Oliver is the son of Leon and Alicia Oliver. His father, Leon was a standout golfer at Lincoln Academy and is a golf-pro at Boothbay Country Club. “I can’t explain his reaction. He was pretty happy,” Oliver said.
Oliver said he is not sure where he will end up next year, but did say he would like to “try to play” collegiate golf. Oliver was runner-up in the Maine Junior Amateur circuit last summer.
Lincoln Academy teammate Seward Matel shot a 77 on the day to tie for fourth place. Kelsey Leeman tied for seventh in the girls’ state championship with a 97.
Two Medomak Valley golfers qualified for the State B Individual championships. Adam Lynch shot an 84 to tie for 15th place, and Alex Greenrose shot a 90, to tie for 23rd place.
In State Class C, two Wiscasset golfers qualified for the Individual championships. Jordan Jones shot a 78 to tie for sixth. Chandler Longfellow shot an 84 to tie for 13th place. “He did quite well, though struggled with a couple of par fives,” coach Tim Flanagan said.
Seth Sweet, of Madison, won the State Class C title. Winthrop’s Taylor Morang shot a hole in one.