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Midway • Utah County schools continued their domination of Utah high school golf Tuesday at Soldier Hollow.
Lone Peak's third-straight 5A championship didn't come as easily as expected, as the Knights held off Weber by just four shots. Davis, Viewmont and Syracuse rounded out the top five.
Timpview's three Lillywhite brothers — Josh, John and Spencer — led the Thunderbirds to their second Class 4A title in three years. East finished in second, six shots back, while Woods Cross, Orem and Wasatch rounded out the top five.
In the individual title chases, Weber sophomore Connor Howe fired a 68 Tuesday to go with his 62 Monday to win the 5A title. That was enough to earn a one-shot victory over Davis freshman Cole Ponich, who shot a 63 in the final round on the Gold Course. American Fork's Andrew Davis finished third while Lone Peak's Carson Lundell and Weber's Bridger Norris tied for fourth.
Corner Canyon's Rhett Rasmussen shot a 65 on the Silver Course on Tuesday to capture the 4A individual championship. That bested Timpview's Josh Lillywhite by three strokes. East's Hayden Banz finished third while Skyline's Blake Tomlinson took fourth and East's Jeff Black finished fifth.
Howe said he got off to a good start Tuesday, going three under through five holes before cooling off. He said Monday's 62 was one of the best rounds he had ever shot.
The 5A medalist said he thought he had a comfortable lead and had no idea that Ponich, against whom he has often competed in junior golf, came in with a 63.
"I had a little two-footer," Howe said about his final shot on No. 18. "There was definitely a thought in my mind I might miss it, but I stroked it into the heart."
Ponich said his putter heated up Tuesday. He said the one hole he regretted was No. 11, where he had an eagle chip and missed by four feet and then holed out the putt to settle for a par.
Lone Peak, which won a prestigious national high school tournament in Phoenix earlier in the year, got a 139 from Lundell, 140s from Jake Livingstone and Elijah Turner, and a 144 from Josh Rooker to survive the scare from Weber.
"Weber is phenomenal," said Lone Peak coach Rob Stanger. "We got lucky. Connor Howe was phenomenal. Jake made a huge putt on the last hole and Elijah made a huge putt on the last hole. That's golf. It's draining to go through all of this."
Rasmussen, a senior who finished tied for second a year ago, said he played solid both days.
"I couldn't get the putter going yesterday," said the Corner Canyon star. "I got it going a little better today. My putting got a lot better today."
Josh Lillywhite, a senior, said before the tournament he wanted to shoot 68 both days. That's exactly what he did.
"It's three times as fun winning it," he said about playing with twin brothers John and Spencer. "But it's three times as much sadness when we lose like we did last year."
Timpview coach Jeff Ward said his team worked hard all year.
"It never hurts having three brothers like the Lillywhites," he said. "But our fourth score, Evan Moody, came in huge both days this week."
The Class 3A and 2A boys' golf tournaments will be contested Wednesday and Thursday at Soldier Hollow.
For complete results and pairings, hit the junior golf tab at utahpga.com.
Twitter: @tribtomwharton —
Storylines
R Lone Peak wins its third straight 5A golf title while Timpview wins its second 4A crown in three years.
• Weber sophomore Connor Howe holds off Davis freshman Cole Ponich by a single shot to win 5A medalist honors.
• Corner Canyon Senior Rhett Rasmussen captures the 4A medalist title. —
Class 5A results
Team Score
1. Lone Peak 278-284— 562
2. Weber 278-288—566
3. Davis 293-279— 572
4. Viewmont 293-290 — 583
5. Syracuse 289-300—589
Class 4A results
Team Score
1. Timpview 284-291 — 575
2. East 287-294 — 581
3. Woods Cross 293-294 — 587
4. Orem 288-300 — 588
T5. Wasatch 295-296 — 591
T5. Bonneville 298-293 — 591