MARLBOROUGH – Charlie Leighton passed the height check.
The Blackstone Valley Tech junior rode the ups and downs of Marlborough Country Club during Tuesday’s Division 2 Central Sectional Championships and carded a 2-over 73, two shots clear of the field to win the individual medal.
“It was a roller coaster round. The greens were tough, ridiculously tough. Putts were just not falling,” Leighton said. “But I ended up making a few to give myself a chance out there. My recovery shots were really, really good.”
The former wrestler made a habit of rescuing himself from challenging situations. He started on the 10th hole then promptly birdied the Par 3 12th followed by a bogey, birdie, double bogey and bogey through 16. His round settled down after that with just a birdie on No. 1 and a bogey on the par-4 fourth hole.
“The way the greens were, it was ideal to be underneath the hole, which is having an uphill putt. The downhillers were just really tough ones that kept running away from you, absolute sliders,” Leighton said. “I ended up setting myself up better on the greens for putts later in the round and gave myelf a chance to make some and was able to limit the mistakes.”
BVT coach Craig Allen was pleasantly surprised entering scores when he realized Leighton entered the clubhouse as the leader. He typically doesn’t watch his players’ rounds.
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“It always seems like their worst shot is when I’m watching,” Allen said. “The mentality of being out here on an island by yourself, I think he pulls through in that. He gravitates to that situation.”
Leighton is BVT’s first-ever sectional medalist.
“He was due for something crazy,” said BVT’s Leopaul Gamelin, who tied for fifth with a 76.
BVT golf qualifies as a team
Leighton qualified for last year’s state tournament as an individual with Connor Griffin, but the two of them will bring the rest of the Beavers along after BVT finished third as a team with a 31-over 315. Nashoba won the team championship a +21, while Westwood was second (+27).
The Beavers missed out on qualifying as a team last year by one stroke in a tiebreaker.
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“We’re thankful that we get the opportunity to go play the nice course that they give us for states, and we’re looking forward to playing it as a team,” Leighton said.
The nice course is Berkshire Hills Country Club in Pittsfield on Monday, Oct. 21.
D-S’ reign ends
Dover-Sherborn’s Matt Brennan also advanced with a 5-over 76 after tying for fifth individually. The Raiders, the defending Division 2 state champions and three-time sectional champions, missed another state tournament trip by two strokes after finishing +33 as a team.
Only three teams advanced to states because there were 14 teams. Had 15 teams qualified for sectionals, four would have advanced. The Tri-Valley League factored into that, as well. Holliston played Ashland in the final match of the regular season. The Clockers needed a win to make sectionals. The Panthers were out. They beat Ashland by two strokes and started the domino effect.
Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk.
This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: BVT golf qualifies for D2 states behind medalist Charlie Leighton
