St. Regis' Thomas wins Plains Invite in chip-off
Thompson Falls freshman Weston Block watches a put roll toward the cup during this past Friday's Plains Invitational Golf Meet at Wild Horse Golf Course north of Plains. (Photo by Doree Thilmony)
This year’s Plains Invitational Golf meet featured a “chip off” to settle the individual boys team title, and a surprise winner in the girls team chase.
The boys individual title ended in a tie after 18 holes between St. Regis senior Denver Thomas and Plains’ Jarrett Weeks.
The two were locked at 80 strokes each at the end of the “regulation” round at the Wild Horse Golf Course just north of Plains. The solution: a “chip off,” kind of like golf’s version of a coin flip, setting up a competition between Thomas and Weeks with chipping, or hitting short shots from outside the putting green.
The competition concluded with Thomas winning the chip-off and being awarded the individual title for the 2025 event.
Winning the individual part of the event did not affect the boys’ team chase, as Seeley Swan was the top team when all was said and done, followed by Thompson Falls in second place and Superior’s boys placing third.
Neither Plains nor St. Regis had enough boys entered to qualify for the team title.
The girls, meanwhile, had a more conventional conclusion, with Thompson Falls senior Sophia Chou the clear-cut individual champ with a score of 95, while the team title went to St. Regis’ girls, who had a team low total of 363, easily defeating Darby (440) for second place.
They were the only two teams with enough players to qualify for the team championship.
Chou’s score of 95 was 23+ par for the day, allowing her to finish first 21 points ahead of runner up Shelby Simkins of St. Regis, who carded a 116 score.
Hila Teeters, a St. Regis freshman, was third in the individual competition with a 122 (+50) score, while teammate Avery Burnham finished fourth with a score of 125 (+53).
Tournament host Plains got fifth place from Eleanor Bebb, who was just one stroke behind Burnham with a 126 score. Trotters’ teammate Cheyenne Little Whirlwind tied for sixth with Seeley Swan’s Aubrey Stevenson.
T Falls golfer Olivia Naccarini placed eighth with a 137.
The battle between the top boys did not alter the team title standings, with Seeley Swan first, Thompson Falls second and Superior third in the team competition.
Seeley’s Aiden Posthumus placed third for the team champs with an 81 while Superior’s Phin Cataldo finished fourth with an 85.
Other local golfers in the top ten included Tristan Kelly, who came in tied for sixth with Eli Nicholas of Seeley. Darby golfer Jordan Browning placed eighth (94), while St. Regis senior Kaleb Park was ninth with a score of 95.
Thompson Falls golfers Will Grenda (100) and Jack Kull (101) finished eleventh and twelfth respectively, and Superior’s Brydon Drey was tied for twelfth with Kull and Darby’s Abe Atkins.
Weeks, who was on the losing end of the chip-off competition, is the only boys’ golfer on the Plains team.
Next up for local golfers (Plains, T Falls, Superior and St. Regis) are the Tobacco Valley Invitational this Wednesday and Thursday (April 16-17) in Eureka.