Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood Devin Deogun blasting out of the front sand trap on par-five No. 16 during the final round. He found himself in the same bunker during the playoff.
BATTLE CREEK – Being lodged in a green-side sand trap on the first playoff hole of a state championship isn’t where most golfers want to find their next shot.
But Devin Deogun had been there before.
“I was on the left side of the bunker this time, but just having a pretty good bunker shot the first time gave me some good vibes going into that shot,” the Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood junior said about getting up and down from the same bunker at No. 16 during both regulation and the playoff.
The last attempt gave Deogun the Division 2 state championship title over runner up Eric Nunn of St. Johns. The two juniors tied at 5-under 139 for two rounds of regulation, both shooting 69-70 over two days at Bedford Valley Golf Course just north of Battle Creek.
They finished ahead of Ian Carroll of East Lansing and Brendan Meadows of Gibraltar Carlson, who each shot 1-under 143.
“When he missed (his par putt) a great weight lifted off my shoulders; having to two-putt from three feet isn’t too difficult,” Deogun said about the win over Nunn. “Not your typical birdie but it works for me.
“Being a co-leader (going into the final round) I think it’s a little more pressure, having to back up your good round. I’d prefer maybe being one shot back so I can play a little more aggressive and be myself. Being in the lead I can be more tentative and defensive, but I didn’t hold back today. I played it like it was any other round, played my game and it turned out well.”
Nunn remained positive after the individual playoff loss, because he and his St. Johns team secured the team state title, the program’s first in 55 years. The Red Wings scored 298-299-597, the first two times this season St. Johns had broken 300 for a round.
Division 2 team champion St. Johns
“That’s insane,” said St. Johns veteran coach Paul Sternburgh, who is hanging it up after next season. “If you had told me we’d do that I never would have believed it. You just don’t shoot 298-299 at the state competition, with all the pressure and the things that are there, especially when the team hasn’t been there before. It’s the first time (this season) we put all the scores together.”
“To have the two golfers we have at the top, Zach (Rosendale, 5th place) and Eric, you just don’t get that kind of talent. And then you get our three, four and five players. Like I told those three, we’re going to go as far as you take us. And they took us a long ways, obviously.”
Adding to Rosendale’s 71-73-144 was Nate Brown shooting 79-76-155, Jack Bouck scoring 79-80-159 and Zeke Ely supporting it with an 81-82-163.
“We’ve all shot the same numbers this year, just not at the same time,” Nunn said about the sub-600. “State finals was a good time to show up. It all came together at the same time. I’m super proud of our guys.”
Nunn added that it was difficult for the team to get out of regionals with No. 1 and No. 2-ranked Ada Forest Hills Eastern and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, respectively.
“It was more about surviving and advancing and we knew we could do some damage if we played well here,” he said. “We knew we belonged. There were some doubters but we proved them wrong this weekend.”
With all five starters as underclassmen, the Red Wings have one more year to do the same.
Division 1: Novi Detroit Catholic Central shot 299-298-597 for an eight-shot win over Grosse Pointe South at Grand Valley’s The Meadows. Battle Creek Lakeview’s Andrew Walker won the individual title for the second straight year after needing a one-hole playoff to defeat Plymouth’s Jake Boczar. Despite shooting 3-over 75 Saturday, Walker finished at a cumulative even-par for the entire season. “It feels amazing,” Walker, an MSU commit, said. “I’m pretty relieved and excited at the same time, really happy to be able to have done it.”
Division 3: Tawas Area shot a 297 Saturday at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East, winning the team title by three strokes over first-round co-leader Jackson Lumen Christi. Macomb Lutheran North’s Scott Sparks, who shot a 67 Friday, won the individual title with a 141, six shots ahead of Dundee’s Justin Kane.
Division 4: Clarkston Everest won the team title at MSU’s Forest Akers West, pacing the field by 28 shots. Kalamazoo Christian was second. Lansing Christian’s Parker Jamieson won the individual title with a 147, two strokes ahead of Everest’s Tyler Rozwadowski.