Ayden Febres attempts a birdie putt on the 3rd hole Tuesday. The freshman captured medalist honors with a 7-under 65. (Photo/J. Daniel Pearson)
Freshman Ayden Fabres birdied his last hole to shoot a seven-under 65 to win the FHSAA Region 3A-2 individual golf championship by one shot on Tuesday afternoon at Royal St. Cloud.
His winning score helped St. Cloud High finish second in the team competition at five-under 283 and earn another berth in the Class 3A state tournament, held Tuesday and Wednesday of next week at Mission Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills.
Fabres, who also won a district title a week earlier, was magnificent in carding seven birdies and going bogey free over the 6,571-yard windswept course.
Although he started off with a birdie, he found bunkers off the tee on Nos. 2, 4 and 6 but managed to save par all three times.
“It wasn’t the greatest of starts but I have a lot of faith in my short game,” Febres said.
He caught fire on No. 7; disappointed that he left his approach shot 20 feet short, he calmly drilled the putt for a birdie. That sparked a run of three consecutive birds as he made the turn in four-under 32.
By then, the unflappable 15-year-old was on a roll. He barely missed birdie putts on 11 and 12, before reaching the par 5, 13th hole in two and finishing with a stress-free two-putt birdie. He got up and down for a birdie on 16 and made nice par saves on 14 and 17.
Heading into the final hole, he was tied with Dwyer’s Hampton Beebe and William Cui, who were in the clubhouse with 66s. Febres smashed his drive down the middle, wedged to within five feet and drained the uphill putt for the tournament winning 65.
Fabres was not the only St. Cloud bright spot on the day. Arnold Pouncey IV (70) and Orange Belt Conference champion Ethan Parrish (71) also posted subpar rounds and Nick Lehto came in at 77.
“We didn’t match the 274 we shot last week at districts, but the stakes and pressure were a lot higher today given the tougher conditions and higher level of competition,” St. Cloud coach Alejandro Sanchez said. “We finished under par as a team, took second place in the toughest region in the state and performed well all day. We go into states next week knowing we can compete with anyone.”
Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer was Tuesday’s other major story. Playing with Febres, senior University of South Florida commit Wylie Inman shot 68 and Tankhoun Ritthisorn added a 71 to give Dwyer an astonishing 17-under par total of 271.
In all, 12 players broke par and 48 of the 72-player field shot 76 or better.
In Monday’s girls Region 2 tournament, the Lady Bulldogs shot 318 to finish fifth. Although only the top two teams automatically advance to the state championship, the Lady Bulldogs are assured of one of the eight at-large spots for the 3A state tournament based on their current state ranking.
St. Cloud was led by Abigail Murphy’s 76, which was good for a 13th place finish. Team captain Karolyna Adams was 17th at 78. St. Cloud’s other counting scores came from Maddie Burda (81) and Olivia Siegel (83).
Although the round was played on the same course as districts, faster greens, tougher pin placements and a breezier day let a more challenging Royal St. Cloud course.
Still there were several impressive team and individual performances. Defending state and regional champion Lake Nona, led by Alexandra Snyder’s second place 68 (-4), recorded four scores of 76 or better to shoot a two-over 290. That score was eight clear of second place Jupiter (298).
Overall, eight golfers shot par or better. South Lake’s Ava Febring, competing as an at-large individual, won the tournament with a spectacular 5-under 67.
The 36-hole Class 3A State Championships will be contested on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week at Mission Inn Resort and Club at Howey-in-the-Hills. The boys will compete on the Par-72, 6,764-yard El Campeon Course; while the girls will play the Par-72, 5,455-yard Las Colinas course. St. Cloud finished seventh at last year’s state championship; while the Lady Bulldogs were 10th.
