Killip blisters Lake Spanaway for final-round 64 to set Narrows golf record

Olympia High School’s Riley Killip made sure to give the Narrows League golf championships a memorable sendoff Wednesday afternoon.

Aided by a pair of back-nine eagles, including a holeout from the fairway to finish his round, the Bears’ standout blistered Lake Spanaway Golf Course for a 8-under-par 64 in the final round of the 4A Narrows boys tournament.

Not only did his 12-under 132 total shatter the tournament scoring record — it was previously held by Bellarmine Prep’s Kyle Stanley (2006) and R.J. Manke (2015) at 135 — his 64 was a single-round league mark.

The left-hander won by nine strokes over South Kitsap ninth-grader Drew Halili, who shot a 69 in the final round.

With the league disbanding, the Narrows tournament concludes after a 31-year run.

The odd thing for Killip, who had never contended at the league championships before, was that once he opened with a 68, he made it his primary goal to set the tournament record.

“Overnight, it was literally all I was thinking about,” Killip said.

Which worried Olympia coach Skip Fabritius just a bit.

“That’s putting a lot of pressure on yourself,” Fabritius said.

In the final group, Killip birdied the second, fourth and fifth holes to make the turn in 3-under 33.

Then came the fireworks.

On No. 10, a short par 5, his 8-iron from 161 yards never left the flagstick, stopping right next to the hole. He tapped in a 2 1/2-foot putt for eagle to get to 5-under on the day.

As he stood on the 11th tee box, he wasn’t thinking about a league title. Instead, he was thinking about his younger brother, Cory.

“I know he is coming up (to high school) and he is better than me,” Riley Killip said. “I knew I had to set something for him to chase.”

Again, he hit it close at No. 11 with a 9-iron. He made the short putt to get to 10-under for the tournament.

That is where he stood on the finishing hole. From 99 yards out, his lob wedge approach landed 10 feet in front of the hole and tracked right into the back of the cup for an eagle-2.

“He was hitting on the pin all day, and did not have many long putts,” said Bellarmine Prep’s Joe Highsmith, the league’s regular-season scoring leader who played with Killip.

“He’s a really good player. He hasn’t reached his full potential yet, so it was good to see him play well. It was pretty impressive to watch.”

4A GIRLS

A year ago in the postseason, Maddy Kokich didn’t quite make the cut.

Now on the Bellarmine Prep girls golf team, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. She was still one of the better players in the area.

She just happened to be a member of the state’s premier powerhouse — a six-time defending 4A champion.

And on Wednesday, Kokich did not let another opportunity pass by.

In fact, she won the 4A Narrows girls tournament at Lake Spanaway Golf Course by two strokes over teammate Serena Lee.

“It was a little gut-wrenching last year,” Kokich said. “I was motivated to come back, and I just knew I was going to make it either way.”

Kokich has always had game. In fact, two years ago, she finished third in her age group at the inaugural “Drive, Chip and Putt” contest at Augusta (Georgia) National Golf Club, home of The Masters.

“We knew she was a great ball-striker,” Bellarmine Prep coach Mark Bender said. “She’s learned how to control herself … and that mental part of her game showed.”

In fact, the top five spots at the league tournament were swept by the Lions. Kokich’s winning two-round total was 10-over-par 154, followed by Lee (156), Tessa George (159), Clair Hill (162) and Morgan Bentley (163).

3A BOYS

Holding a two-stroke lead entering the final round, Capital’s Eric Hagen said he wanted to play “conservative-aggressive.”

And he promptly made bogey on the opening two holes at Lake Spanaway.

However, Hagen, a transfer from Aberdeen High School, settled down, and birdied three of the par-5 holes to pull away for a four-shot victory over Shelton’s Tim Nail.

Hagen shot a final-round 72, and had a two-round total of 1-over 145.

“I just didn’t want to do anything stupid,” said Hagen, who has signed with the University of Denver.

The four-time defending 3A Narrows champion Cougars took four of the six available state berths: Hagen, Gabe Barnes, Eli Simpson and Travis Bossio, who grabbed the final spot on the third sudden-death playoff hole.

3A GIRLS

Central Kitsap’s Brittany Kwon made five birdies and shot a 3-under-par 69 to close out the 3A Narrows girls tournament.

Kwon’s 4-under 140 total was 38 strokes better than the second-place finisher, Capital’s Mica Livingston.

Needless to say, Kwon is an obvious state contender.

“I am not stressed about it,” Kwon said. “We’ll see how the next few weeks go.”

CHIP SHOTS

After last winter’s realignment, the Narrows League disbanded, ending its 31-year league golf tournament. Bellarmine Prep Ed Ploof has been the tournament director for all of it. The first winner? It was Lions’ standout Michelle Wooding (Murphy), who won the 1985 title at North Shore Golf Course while playing against the boys.

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 8:40 PM with the headline "Killip blisters Lake Spanaway for final-round 64 to set Narrows golf record."