Samwel pushes through the rain to state

Heavy rain put a damper on Bryce Samwel’s iron game, but the Washougal golfer pushed through and qualified for state for the third time in his high school career.

“The clubs weren’t going far. I was coming up about 20 yards short and needed longer irons to get to the greens,” Samwel said. “That strategy wasn’t going to work. The next day, I hit driver on pretty much every hole. I made two birdies, but the priority was pars.”

Samwel shaved eight strokes off his first round of 85 Thursday, at the Mint Valley Golf Course in Longview. He also moved four spots up on the leaderboard and finished tied for ninth place at the 2A district tournament with a combined score of 162.

“It would have been nice to place a little bit higher,” Samwel said. “The goal in the end was just to qualify for state.”

Hockinson’s Diego De La Torre won districts with a 145. Everest Kabbenhoft earned 35th place for Washougal. He shot two rounds of 93 for a 186.

The 2A boys state golf tournament is scheduled for May 27 and 28, on the Liberty Lake Golf Course in Spokane.

“I just want to play well,” Samwel said. “The placement doesn’t matter as long as I walk off the course knowing that I played as well as I could have.”