The Marion Athletic Conference golf tournament was set for 18 holes on a warm late September afternoon, but Hurricane Helene had other plans. Due to the ensuing storm, the tournament was cut to nine holes on Wednesday, adding twice the pressure for Marion County’s high school golfers.
A soaked crowd of golfers huddled into the clubhouse to find Forest High School boys and girls teams atop the final standings when the shower subsided, while familiar faces won individual titles at the event.
Vanguard’s Zach Phan, a two-time champion from his sophomore and freshman seasons, shot a mind-blowing 32 to win the date. His four under-par day is nothing to scoff at. Neither is a five stroke difference between Phan and Fest’s pair of second place finishers Taylor Galavis and Owen Sahajpal.
“I won it my sophomore to get back up here feels good,” said Phan. “I’m good friends with most of the kids on Forest, so it’s a friendly competition, so beating them is kind of fun.”
While Forest took its thirteenth county title in a row, Phan’s four birdies paced Vanguard Knights’ boys golf to a second-place finish. North Marion took a surprising third place finish with Brandon Keen scoring a team-high and tied for fifth-best in county with a 43.