4A STATE: Las Vegas’ Gillip wins individual title in playoff

SPARKS — Shortly after missing a 10-foot putt for the win, Las Vegas High senior Ray Gillip was lucky enough to get a second chance.

He made the most of it.

Gillip sank a 30-footer for par on the first playoff hole to claim the individual championship Thursday in the Class 4A state boys golf tournament on the Lakes Course at the Resort at Red Hawk.

“It’s been four long years,” Gillip said. “I’ve been waiting for this a long time. I can’t wait to get that ring finally.”

Gillip shot the day’s low score, a 2-under-par 70, to finish tied at 142 and force the playoff with Jordan Gilmore, a freshman from Spanish Springs.

Coronado freshman A.J. McInerney, who began the day with a two-stroke lead, shot 76 to finish third at 145. Coronado’s Tad Darland, last year’s champion, finished fourth at 147, and Green Valley’s Ryan Green was the fifth medalist by a tiebreaker, finishing in a group of three at 149.

Palo Verde’s Thanapon Iamsaard, who finished eighth with a two-day total of 151, had the individual highlight of the tournament when he made a hole-in-one on the 198-yard 17th hole, with a 4-iron.

Gillip was playing in the state tournament for the fourth time in his high school career, and the winning putt was the second long one he drained in the last three holes. He took the lead with a 40-footer for a birdie on the 17th hole.

Gillip said he was able to fly under the radar, with most of the attention directed at younger players from Coronado and Spanish Springs.

“There’s kids who are known and they’re good, but I came out on top,” he said. “It’s a good feeling.”

Spanish Springs won the team championship by eight strokes over Coronado, outscoring the Cougars by four strokes each day to finish with a team total of 754.

“Nobody had played close to Coronado all year long and they weren’t used to playing with pressure, and I was curious to see how they would react under pressure,” Spanish Springs coach Victor Sherbondy said. “As it turns out, they reacted as good as we could have hoped for.”

After shooting an opening-round 377, Coronado came back with a 385. Cougars coach Joe Sawaia said his players never adjusted to the condition of the greens.

“From tee to green, we were very solid,” Sawaia said. “We hit the right shots, we chose the right clubs, we just got ourselves into some spots around the greens that we struggled with. And at the end of the day, championships come down to putting, and they outputted us.”