CARMEL – Jonny Hollar finished Wednesday’s round of the state finals, as well as his prep career, on a high note. Playing in the 79th annual boys golf state finals as an individual, the recently-graduated Warsaw standout birdied his final hole at Prairie View in Carmel. Hollar, playing in the state finals for the third time in his career as the Tigers advanced as a team during his freshman and sophomore seasons, carded a 3-over par 75 during both 18-hole rounds. His two-day total of 150 left him in a tie for 20th among the 100 golfers competing. “I was happy to see him birdie his last hole,” Warsaw coach Ben Barkey said of the steady Hollar, who also shot 75 during the regional at Stonehenge. “What a way to close the state finals, and also his career. “I’m so happy that he was able to make it down here again. For him to play in the state finals three out of four years, that’s an amazing accomplishment. “Jonny is such a steady player. He doesn’t get rattled. He always had a great approach and a great mindset. We’re going to miss that.” Hollar made the turn Wednesday with a 1-over 37, and then carded a 2-over 38 on the back. Hollar birdied the par-4 No. 9 to get back to 1-over for the day, but double-bogeyed the par-5 No. 13 after starting the backside with three straight pars. On the final three holes of his prep career, Hollar went bogey, par, birdie. “His short game was there today, which was the opposite of the first round,” said Barkey. “He was pretty solid again today, that’s the way he is. He double-bogeyed a par-5 ... he was a little long on his second shot, but I thought it was a great call. He was going for it. “I’m proud of him, and the way he represented himself and our program for four years.” Hollar finished in a tie with Jasper’s Reid Lorey, Columbus North’s Spencer Fairbanks and Hamilton Southeastern’s Alex Bullington. Columbia City’s Spencer Klimek and Lafayette Harrison’s Cole Bradley tied for the top individual score with a 36-hole score of 143. Bradley won medalist honors after beating Klimek in a two-hole playoff. It was just the 10th time a playoff was needed to decide the individual champion and was the first since 2008. Klimek shot a 4-under 68 on Tuesday and held a 2-shot lead on the field but carded a 75 on Wednesday. Bradley was more consistent en route to the title, firing a 1-under 71 Tuesday and carding a 72 Wednesday. In the battle among the 15 teams, third-ranked Westfield finished with a two-day, four-man score of 584 and held off top-ranked Center Grove by four strokes. For the Shamrocks, it was their second state title in three years. After winning it all in 2013, they were the state runner-up last year. Zionsville finished third with a 603, while Bishop Dwenger and Hamilton Southeastern were next at 605. Dwenger advanced to the state finals from the Warsaw Regional at Stonehenge, as did Columbia City and Homestead. Homestead finished seventh with a 623, while Columbia City tied for ninth at 627. Of interest during Wednesday’s round, Castle sophomore Austin Bratton used a 4-iron to ace the par-3, 180-yard No. 15. It was the fifth hole-in-one in the boys golf state finals and first since Warsaw’s Jon Clevenger aced No. 13 at The Legends in Franklin in 2004.
BOYS STATE FINALS (Prairie View, Carmel, par-72) Team Scores – Westfield 295-289 584, Center Grove 298-290 588, Zionsville 297-306 603, Bishop Dwenger 302-303 6-5, Hamilton Southeastern 306-299 605, Plainfield 313-308 621, Homestead 315-308 623, Bloomington South 311-315 626, Columbia City 310-317 627, Noblesville 315-312 627, Lafayette Harrison 322-307 629, Castle 318-312 630, Oak Hill 325-317 642, Martinsville 337-329 666, Floyd Central 335-332 667 Top Individuals – Cole Bradley (Laf. Harrison) 71-72 143, Spencer Klimek (Col. City) 68-75 143, Austin Crowder (Center Grove) 70-74 144, Callahan Elzey (Bishop Dwenger) 72-72 144, Zach Schroeder (Lebanon) 71-73 144, Thomas Lewis (Westfield) 71-73 144, Timmy Hildebrand (Westfield) 74-70 144, Keegan Bronnenberg 70-74 144 Local Individual – 20th (tie) Jonny Hollar (Warsaw) 75-75 150
