But it was Notre Dame junior Jordan Owens that stole the show midway through the second and final day with what is possibly the most spectacular shot in the LHSAA’s state tournament history.
After driving his tee shot on the 11th hole some 311 yards, Owens pulled out his seven-iron and drilled his second shot straight at the pin on the par-five hole that was playing about 475 on the final day.
A greenside bunker blocked Owen’s view but by the reaction of the few coaches up by the green, he knew it was a good shot.
How good was it?
The ball hit the pin and settled in the bottom of the cup for a double-eagle, also known as the albatross, the rarest of birds on the golf course.
The remarkable feet helped ease the pain of the double-bogey Owens carded on the previous hole.
“On the 10th hole, I three-putted for a double bogey so I wasn’t too happy,” said Owens. “I was a little frustrated so I grabbed my driver and swung pretty hard on that one. I had about 164 into the green and I hit my seven-iron, that I kind of caught a little thin, but I still hit it pretty good. It was going straight at the pin. But when the ball got over the bunker, I couldn’t see it anymore so I didn’t actually see it go in the hole.
“But I heard it hit the pin and the coaches on the green started going crazy. At first I thought it must be close to the pin. I honestly didn’t think it actually went in. That was the furthest thing from my mind. It was just crazy. That was the loudest I think I’ve ever heard it on a golf course.”
Owen’s double-eagle is so rare that some internet sources have the odds at making one at 6-million-to-1.
In fact, a hole-in-one or ace is more common as approximately 40,000 of them are made per year in the US compared to a couple hundred double bogeys.
“This is absolutely the highlight of my career so far,” said Owens. “That’s the only time I’ve actually holed something. I’ve never even had a hole-in-one. I’ve put together some good rounds and I’ve hit some pretty nice shots but nothing like that.”
Owens finished his final seven holes a few shots over par and ended the day with a round of 78, giving him 11th place overall with a two-day total of 159.
“I didn’t shoot exceptionally well on the final seven holes but that hole right there (11th) pretty much set the whole tournament for me,” said Owens. “After that, it really didn’t matter to me if I came in and shot horrible. I did that and I was pretty pumped. It didn’t matter to me how the rest of the tournament went.”
Owens’ shot was the highlight of the day for Notre Dame, which finished second behind Loyola with a two-day team total of 613.
Kyle Camp led the Pios with a fourth-place overall finish. He shot a 67 on the opening day and was two strokes back of Eric Richard of Loyola but a three-over in the final round netting him a total of 155. Richard finished first with a score of 135.
Also scoring for the Pios was John David Nickel, who carded a 155 to finish in a tie for fifth-place. William Mahaffey finished tied for 12th with Rayne’s Cory Johnson after both fired a 160 and Kyle Guidry was tied for 15th place with a 161.
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