Hill keeps rolling, Chaney edges Benn at Oklahoma Junior Masters

By Ken MacLeod

It’s been quite a run since May for Tres Hill of Elk City.

First he won the Class 4A state championship at Winter Creek in Blanchard by a shot over Will Sides of Tulsa. He followed that with a stunning victory last week in the OGA State Amateur Championship at Cedar Ridge Country Club.

On Tuesday, Hill added another prestigious title, winning the Oklahoma Junior Masters at Southern Hills Country Club with a score of 1-under 69, edging Andrew Goodman of Norman and Ryder Cowan of Edmond by a shot.

Reagan Chaney of Ardmore won a two-hole playoff with Brooklyn Benn of Edmond after both shot 1-over 74 (the girls played the course as a par 73 while the boys played it to a par of 70.)  Chaney’s future teammate at Oklahoma City University this fall Maddi Kamas of Ardmore shot 76 to take third.

OCU, which plays at the NAIA level, looks loaded on both sides for 2021-22, as Hill has also signed there along with Dylan Teeter, whom he defeated in the match play finale of the state amateur last Wednesday. Teeter tied for seventh with a 73.

Cowan, a junior who is being recruited by both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, shot 3-under on the back nine to get back to even par after a lost ball on the par-5 fifth hole led to an early double bogey.

Goodman is the OU signee whom many including coach Ryan Hybl expect to move directly into the starting lineup for the Sooners this fall. He was cruising at 2-under and had a two-shot lead on Hill until a bogey on the par-4 15^th hole. He then hit his second shot into a greenside bunker on 18, pitched out to 4 feet above the hole, then watched his par putt spin around the lip of the cup and refuse to fall.

Hill, playing in the final group, hit a 3-wood from 260 yards on the par-4 17^th, where the tee had been moved up to allow players a drivable par-4. The shot stopped 15 feet above the hole, which he cozied down for a tap-in birdie to move to 1-under.

There was still drama on 18. He flared his drive right and had to hit a 200-yard punch shot under a tree and roll it up the hill in front of the green, which he did flawlessly to about 25 feet away, then two-putted for the win.

Hill had also made birdies on 13 and 15 to overcome a double bogey on 12.

“I’m just trying to keep the roll going,” said Hill, who said he didn’t touch a club from the time he won the State Amateur until Monday’s practice round. He did, however, take the State Amateur trophy to his home course in Elk City, where he said everyone took turns posing for photos with it and offering him congratulations.

Chaney shot 90 in her first crack at Southern Hills in this event in 2020 while Kamas shot 83, so both have obviously grown as players while the course may have been playing a bit easier this year as well. Benn shot 77 to finish second in 2020. Going into her senior year she has yet to commit to a college but said she is considering Wichita State.

Chaney and Kamas said they are looking forward to the fall at OCU and both were appreciative of Southern Hills for the opportunity to play the historic course.

“You have to feel that if you play well here you can play well on just about any course,” Chaney said. “The big difference this year was I was in a lot fewer bunkers. I think I was in one bunker today, where last year I was in one on just about every hole.”

Boys:

Tres Hill, Elk City, 69

Andrew Goodman, Norman, 70

Ryder Cowan, Edmond, 70

Kaelen Dulany, Keller, Texas, 72

Grant Gudgel, Stillwater, 72

Jake Hopper, Norman, 72

Dylan Teeter, Bixby, 73

Bryant Polhill, Edmond, 73

William Sides, Tulsa, 73

Kaden Armstrong, Broken Arrow, 74

Matthew Smith, OKC, 75

Buddy Wehrii, Tulsa, 75

Dominic Stevens, Crescent, 75

Carson Wright, Norman, 76

Ben Stoller, Owasso, 76

Jordan Wilson, Edmond, 77

Alex Bloxham, Broken Arrow, 77

Rhett Hughes, Edmond, 77

Sam Morris, Tulsa 77

Cody Fifer, Tulsa 77

Kyle McLaughlin, Oklahoma City, 78

Drew Mabrey, Tulsa, 78

Mesa Falleur, Muskogee, 78

Phisher Phillips, Rogers, Ar., 79

Ryan Bell, Norman, 79

Carson Blaser, Edmond, 80
Benton Manly, Tulsa, 80

Connor Cryer, Tipton, 80

Austin Dolan, Arcadia, 80

Jeremy Tandoy, Broken Arrow, 81

Shane Herlihy, Edmond, 81

Sutton McMillian, Choctaw, 82

Will Hennessee, Tulsa 82

J.J. Peters, Tulsa 83

Kolby Matthews, Edmond, 83

Jacob Cameron, Tulsa, 84

William Turner, Tulsa, 85

Jesse Tandoy, Broken Arrow, 85

Jack Gero, Tulsa, 86

Banks Cozby, Tulsa 87

Griffin Tucker, Tulsa, 91

Girls

Reagan Chaney, Ardmore 74 (won playoff)

Brookly Benn, Edmond, 74

Maddi Kamas, Kingfisher, 76

Olivia Coit, Edmond, 77

Lindyn Ross, Ardmore, 79

Peyton Coburn, Broken Arrow, 79

Gracie Doke, Tulsa 80

Lily Whitley, Edmond, 81

Aubrey House, McAlester, 81

Jaiden Gregston, Duncan, 81

Beans Factor, Ada, 84

Emily Vang, Tulsa, 86

Lily Stanton, Jenks, 88

Jenna Triplett, Edmond, 89

Mimi Hoang, Oklahoma City, 90