Dominating day for Camas golf

WOODLAND — Camas junior Ryker Jun stood at the No. 1 tee box late Tuesday afternoon at Lewis River Golf Course, trying to break the tension.

Jun was getting ready to face teammate Collin Clark in a playoff to decide the Class 4A boys golf district champion when he quipped: “Wouldn’t it be funny if this thing went 18?”

As it turned out, only one extra hole was needed.

Clark was unable to get up and down after an approach shot that was just off the mark, allowing Jun to capture the district title with a short par putt.

“This was the first time,” Jun said of being in a playoff. “It was pretty cool. … I was nervous, but I kind of played it like any hole, didn’t want the nerves to get to me.”

Jun and Clark both hit solid shots of equal distance. Jun’s approach shot landed on the green, about 25 feet from the hole, while Clark’s shot sailed to the right of the green.

“It happens,” Clark said.

When Clark wasn’t able to drop a 12-foot putt, Jun was able to two-putt for the win.

A lot was happening early for Clark, who was 5-under-par through 12 holes.

“I was hitting all my drives well,” Clark said. “My putting was outstanding. And I’d say my chipping saved me a lot because some of my irons I didn’t hit well.”

But a double-bogey on No. 13 and a bogey on No. 17 left him with a 2-under 70 for the round.

Jun rallied on the back nine with a string of pars, plus a birdie on No. 15, to finish with a 2-over 74 on Tuesday.

“We brought it back at the end,” Jun said. “I missed some putts on the front nine. But I made good par saves on the back and caught up, so I’m pretty happy about that.”

Both golfers shot 150 for 36 holes.

Camas used its team depth to capture another district team title. Andre Kosaki, Luke Rubano and Evan Wilsey all earned top-five finishes.

Wilsey was Camas’ No. 6 golfer at district, but ended up playing in the final group Tuesday after shooting a first-round 75.

“All of us just got so much better from last year,” Clark said. “Looking at the scores from last year to now, we’ve improved a lot.”