Layton • The contrast was evident on the 17th hole Tuesday.
Weber High’s Conner Howe, a two-time boys defending individual state champion, thumped his club into the ground after teeing off. That even though Howe’s drive on that hole was better than anybody else in his group.
Davis High’s Cole Ponich missed a long putt about an hour later but then seemed to physically shrug it off as he twirled his club and looked over at his teammates just off the green.
Both made par on the hole, but the main difference — and perhaps the cause of the contrasting body language — was that Ponich was on his way to dethroning Howe’s run.
“I was just smiling at them because we pretty much knew that we had just won team at that point,” said Ponich, who turned out to be right.
Along with taking the individual title by six strokes over Howe and Lone Peak’s Zach Jones, Ponich & Co. earned the Class 6A team title, winning by 11 strokes over Lone Peak.
“I was pretty loose. I was playing for the team more than anything,” said Ponich, a junior. “That was definitely the most important thing to me.”
But Ponich did have some unfinished business with Howe dating back to 2015.
Ponich lost the individual crown by a single stroke to Howe as a freshman.
That was in Class 5A two years ago, and Howe followed that with another 5A individual championship in 2016.
The Warriors’ senior trailed Ponich by three strokes entering Tuesday’s final round at Valley View Golf Course.
But Howe got off to a bad start — bogeys on the first two holes — then had to play catchup the rest of the day.
“I struggled. I had a rough start. I made mistakes I shouldn’t have and was 4 over for six holes,” said Howe, who plans to play golf at Georgia Tech.
Howe was one of only four players to shoot a sub-70 score Monday, but he was separated from the other leaders because Weber wasn’t one of the team leaders at the end of the first day.
The second-day pairings were based on team standings.
But Howe didn’t think his isolation from the others necessarily was a determining factor.
“It’s always nice to play with those guys and see how they’re doing compared to you, but last year I was in the same position — I went off an hour before the leaders,” Howe said. “So that wasn’t really a problem. I just didn’t play well enough.”
Ponich and his Davis teammates ended a four-year Lone Peak run atop the big schools classification. Jack Sargent and McKay Cook had identical two-day scores of 147 for the Darts and tied for fifth in the individual rankings.
While Ponich reveled in that, he admitted that his narrow loss as a freshman combined with a subpar performance last year also was a motivator.
“I played really good my freshman year. I just got beat, that’s how it goes. But last year I didn’t play my best at all,” Ponich said. “I definitely wanted to get revenge for it.”
CLASS 6A STATE TOURNAMENT <br>Individual top 10 • 1. Cole Ponich, Daivs, 65-68—133; t-2. Zach Jones, Lone Peak, 69-70—139; t-2. Conner Howe, Weber, 68-71—139; 4. Gavin Smith, Pleasant Grove, 69-76—145; t-5. Jack Sargent, Davis, 76-71—147; t-5. McKay Cook, Davis, 76-71—147; 7. Josh Rooker, Lone Peak, 71-77—148; t-8. Hunter Howe, Weber, 78-72—150; t-8. David Conway, American Fork, 74-7—150; t-8. Tanner McMillan, Clearfield, 73-77—150. <br>Team scores • 1. Davis 580; 2. Lone Peak 591; 3. Weber 600; 4. Bingham 605; t-5. Pleasant Grove 615; t-5. American Fork 615; 7. Clearfield 624; 8. Fremont 650; 9. Riverton 664; 10. Herriman 671.
Class 5A state tournament
Zack Neff carded the best round of the day Tuesday at TalonsGove Golf Course to capture the Class 5A individual state title.
Neff sat tied for third after Monday’s opening day but shot a 5-under 67 to win the state championship with a 74-67—141. His efforts helped the Titans edge Viewmont by a stroke to win the team title. He tied for 17th at the state meet last year.
Highland Oscar Maxfield finished second after posting the only other round in the 60s on Day 2. He was tied with Neff for third after the opening day and shot a 69 on Tuesday.
Viewmont’s Drew Smith was third with a pair of 72s.
Skyline and Highland finished tied for third with 616s.
CLASS 5A STATE TOURNAMENT <br>Individual top 10 • 1. Zack Neff, Olympus, 74-67—141; 2. Oscar Maxfield, Highland, 74-69—143; 3. Drew Smith, Viewmont, 72-72—144; 4. Sam Parker, Olympus, 74-71—145; 5. Grant Wilson, Woods Cross, 74-72—146; 6. Brendan Thomas, Viewmont, 75-72—147; t-7. Kayleb Barton, Alta, 78-70—148; t-7. Zach Hansen, Box Elder, 77-71—148; 9. Sam Whisenent, Highland, 74-75—149; t-10. John Fox, Olympus, 75-75—150; t-10. Tanner Davidson, Skyridge, 77-73—150; t-10. Jackson Holman, East, 77-73—150. <br>Team scores • 1. Olympus 598; 2. Viewmont 599; t-3. Skyline 616; t-3. Highland 616; 5. Skyridge 626; 6. Corner Canyon 637; 7. Bountiful 641; 8. Alta 643; 9. Woods Cross 643.