Georgetown Prep senior Brendan Peel had been so steady throughout Monday’s Interstate Athletic Conference golf championship at Congressional Country Club, but things got interesting on the 18th hole after the Little Hoyas’ star hit his drive into the trees along the right side of the fairway. Peel had saved himself with chip shots out of the sand on the previous two holes and now, with just a one-shot lead, he’d have to do it from the rough.
Peel stayed true to his nature, smoothly chipping out to set up a clutch 10-foot par putt that gave him the IAC individual title — screaming “Let’s go!” at the ball as it veered toward the last hole of the daunting course.
“It’s a putt you dream of,” said Peel, who shot a 70. “I’m just happy I was able to knock it in.”
Peel added that he “would’ve liked a team win,” but that belonged to Landon . The Bears, who revamped their roster this spring with three promising freshmen, won by a convincing margin of 375 to Georgetown Prep’s 393.
That margin was fueled by junior Morgan Egloff, who shot a 71 and dueled with Peel all day in the event’s first group. Egloff picked up steam with birdies on the eighth and ninth holes and made one of the best birdie putts of the day on 13 by sinking in a 20-footer that broke about 10 feet to the right.
Both Peel and Egloff were solid off the tee all afternoon, and Peel stayed in front by two strokes with three holes to go with steady iron play and putting. He had to get up and down out of the bunker on the 17th hole, and a bogey meant Egloff had a chance, down just one stroke heading into the final hole. But Peel was able to troubleshoot again and lay up after he searched for his ball in the trees for several minutes.
“I knew I had to make the putt on the last hole,” Peel said. “I’ll definitely take a lot away from this.”
St. Albans finished in third place with a 403, while Bullis tallied a fourth-place score of 408.
“Golf is an individual sport, and you always want to beat everyone in the field,” Egloff said. “But to win it as a team is huge.”
Landon freshman Jeff Samit, who aced the par-3 13th hole, finished with a 72, while fellow freshman Evan Katz fired a 74. Senior Brent Bubes added a 76 to give the Bears four top-10 finishers.
“This is a team that is one of the most special teams that I’ve coached,” Landon Coach Jack Duquette said. “I knew they could play golf, and they shot a 375 at Congressional, which is not an easy course.”