Where: Camas Meadows Golf Club, Camas.
Layout: 6,541 yards, par 72.
Leaders:
Eddie Abellar, Union 70
Brian Humphries, Camas 70
Rudy Caparas, Lynnwood 70
Greg Gildea, Bellarmine Prep 70
Li Wang, Eastlake 70
Today’s schedule: First tee times are at 7:30 a.m.; leaders tee off at 9:40 a.m.
If you were a golfer who didn’t like playing in the rain, early tee times were preferred on Tuesday at the Class 4A boys golf state tournament.
But if a little rain didn’t bother you much, you were Eddie Abellar.
The Union golfer shot a 2-under-par 70 at Camas Meadows to become the final player to join a quintet of golfers atop the leaderboard.
Abellar, Camas’ Brian Humphreys, Eastlake’s Li Wang, Lynnwood’s Rudy Caparas and Bellarmine Prep’s Greg Gildea each shot 70 to share the lead heading into Wednesday’s final round.
Where: Camas Meadows Golf Club, Camas.
Layout: 6,541 yards, par 72.
Leaders:
Eddie Abellar, Union 70
Brian Humphries, Camas 70
Rudy Caparas, Lynnwood 70
Greg Gildea, Bellarmine Prep 70
Li Wang, Eastlake 70
Today's schedule: First tee times are at 7:30 a.m.; leaders tee off at 9:40 a.m.
Abellar teed off more than hour later than any of his fellow leaders, and that meant playing the back nine in a steady afternoon rain. But Abellar shook off the soggy conditions like a duck.
“I actually enjoy playing in the rain,” Abellar said. “I think it gives me an edge because I have a better attitude about it than most. When it started raining on the back nine, I thought ‘OK, this is fun. Let’s go make some birdies.’ “
And that’s what Abellar did. He shot an even-par 36 on the front nine, but was two under on the back nine.
Another edge Abellar had over the field was playing on his home course. Humphreys echoed that sentiment, but added there was one small drawback.
“I was really nervous on the first tee,” Humphreys said. “I had all these people watching me expecting me to do well because this is my home course. But I relaxed once I got that first drive out of the way. Then I birdied the second and third hole, and I was thinking ‘Oh, OK, I can do this.’ “
For a while, Wang, last year’s runner-up, looked as if he might be alone atop the leaderboard. He was three under at the turn, and got down to 6 under on the back nine. But a bogey-bogey-double bogey stretch brought him back to the pack. He also needed two swings to escape a greenside bunker on No. 18.
Six other players are within three strokes of the lead, setting the stage for an intriguing final round. Kentridge’s Ben DuBois is alone in sixth at 72, and five players carded a 73 — Kentwood’s Connor Sims, Puyallup’s Vinnie Murphy, Skyline’s Brian Mogg, Olympia’s Brendan McCauley and defending champion Kyle Cornett of Jackson.
All five of Clark County’s entrants made the cut. Union’s Ian Spicer shot a 76, Battle Ground’s Chad Hall a 76, and Camas’ Braeden Campbell made the cut at 80.
Rain is expected in the forecast again for Wednesday. But right now, it’s hard to rain on Abellar’s parade..
“I didn’t come in with expectations this year,” Abellar said. “I had high expectations last year at state and didn’t even make the cut. … I’m just glad to be here on my home course and playing well to represent Union High School.”
