RIDGEFIELD — While Mountain View and Camas battled for the team championship, a couple of Fort Vancouver Trappers stole the marquee Wednesday at the Class 3A district boys golf championship at Tri-Mountain Golf Course.
Boon Kusolsomboon, a junior, recorded the best score of his life, a 1-under-par 71, rallying for the district championship.
Kusolsomboon, who started the final round a shot off the lead, totalled a 3-over 147 for the two days, a shot better than Fort freshman Trent Standard.
“I have a lot of friends at Fort. I think they’re going to be surprised,” Kusolsomboon said.
Kusolsomboon finished 12th in last year’s tournament. He shaved 17 shots off of last year’s total.
“I spent two months in Thailand this summer. I practiced golf every single day in Thailand,” said Kusolsomboon, who moved with his family to Vancouver from Thailand two years ago. “I went back to USA and my regular season was not very good.”
He saved his best for district.
“I could not hit my driver. But my approach shots would always go to the pins,” he said.
He birdied the sixth hole Wednesday in his bogey-free round, and his score could have been even better.
“Today, I missed a lot of short putts,” he said.
Standard played in the group behind his teammate. He had no idea where he stood until the end of the day, when he found out he was a stroke off of a playoff. He just missed a putt on the final hole.
“I feel great, the first year being out here,” Standard said. “I felt like I could have been better. I missed that one clutch putt right there, but overall I’m pretty happy with my round and where I am right now.”
Standard fired a 73 after his first-round 75.
He is thrilled to be part of the 1-2 finish for Fort Vancouver.
“Whenever you can get your name in the paper, representing the Trappers, it’s a great feeling,” Standard said.
Taylor Smith and Collin Herrema of Mountain View tied for third, five strokes off the lead. Their high finishes led the Thunder to the district team championship, edging Camas 181-179.
The system rewards points for higher finishes. Mountain View and Camas each qualified six golfers to Wednesday’s final round.
Camas’ Daniel Patterson tied for fifth along with Prairie’s Brian Siedelman and Camas’ Braeden Campbell. Patterson and Siedelman took spots 5 and 6 in a playoff, advancing directly to the Class 3A state tournament in the spring. The location of the state tournament has not been determined yet.
Campbell ended up seventh. The seventh through 15th placers qualified for the bi-district tournament, with one more opportunity to earn a trip to state.
