Olympus golf coach Matt Barnes, who moonlights as the Titans’ highly successful basketball coach, has seen a lot in his 27 years at the Holladay school.
And prep sports never ceases to amaze the likable mentor to hundreds of athletes and students alike.
Take what happened at Fox Hollow Golf Course in Utah County on Tuesday, for instance.
The Titans rose up and snapped rival Skyline’s five-year stranglehold on the 5A golf title, running away from the field for a 17-shot win over runner-up East, 579-596. The Eagles placed sixth with a 614.
“Golf is crazy,” Barnes said. “I’ve done this for a lot of years and it never gets old. It’s just awesome.”
Bonneville senior Parker Bunn, who has signed to golf for national powerhouse Oklahoma State next fall, won medalist honors by defeating Olympus sophomore Will Pedersen with a birdie on the first playoff hole, the par-5 ninth at Fox Hollow.
Bunn got a tremendous break when his tee shot hit a rock in a hazard and bounced into the fairway. He missed the green with his second shot, while Pedersen was safely on in two.
However, Bunn got up and down for a birdie 4, and when Pedersen’s 5-footer for birdie slid past the hole, the much-decorated Bunn had his individual state championship to accompany him to Stillwater, Oklahoma, next year.
Read more from Deseret News’ James Edward, Click Here. Photos by Utah PGA intern, Josh Green.