MONROE — East Surry’s golf team brought hardware home from the state championship match for the fifth-straight season.
While the two-time defending 2A State Team Champions fell just short of a three-peat, instead finishing fourth, sophomore Pennson Badgett won an individual trophy for the second consecutive season. Badgett finished with a 36-hole score of 140 at Stonebridge Golf Glub; His four-under-par only trailed Seaforth’s Ty Willoughby’s 135 (-9).
Willoughby’s 135 not only helped Seaforth win the 2A State Championship as a team, but it was also tied for the fourth-best individual score in NCHSAA Championship history.
Seaforth won the team championship by shooting 594. Pine Lake Prep also shot 594, but lost in a two-hole playoff. Salisbury finished third at 616, while East Surry and Newton-Conover tied for fourth at 633.
Badgett is the fourth Cardinal golfer to finish in the top two at states in the past three seasons. Bradley Davis Jr. was 2A State Runner-up in 2022, then two Cards won individual hardware in 2023 — Badgett won the 2A State Championship, while Connor Key tied for State Runner-up.
Badgett shot an even 72 on the first day of competition to finish tied for fifth. East Surry returned for the second day and battled some tougher conditions due to bad weather, even dealing with a 45-minute rain delay. Despite the weather, Badgett bounced back and shot four-under-par.
“The first day wasn’t up to his standards, and it was kind of a grind it out round,” said East Surry coach Darrin Haywood. “He was still high in the rankings though. He did some work after the round and felt much better the second day. He was hitting his spots better, and with the greens being so wet his hits would just stop on the green and set him up for good putts.
“He was really proud of his effort the second day.”
Taking the second spot for East Surry was senior Jace Goldbach at 157, who joined Badgett as the only returning players to compete in the 2023 State Championship match. Goldbach’s 13-over-par tied him for the 29th best score at states.
Following the 2023 championship, Haywood said Goldbach was “going to be so important for our program moving forward.” He echoed that sentiment following this year’s match.
“The great thing about Jace is that he’s just so consistent,” Haywood said. “You always know about where he’s going to be, and that really makes things easier as a coach. He was another one that felt a lot better about his second day than the first.”
East Surry’s three first-time state qualifiers were freshman Truett Harrison, sophomore Braxton Davis and senior Fletcher Gibson.
Harrison tied for 39th by shooting 161 (+17).
“It’s intimidating to compete at states as a freshman,” Haywood said. “I’m proud of him for playing much calmer the second day. He actually chipped in for an eagle on a hole early on and I think that really got him going.”
Davis and Gibson each had their individual scores contribute to East Surry’s team score one day. Davis, who finished tied for 77th with an overall score of 181 (+37), shot 87 on the first day and 94 on the second. Gibson, who finished 80th with an overall score of 182 (+38) shot 94 on the first day and 88 on the second.
“These guys really stepped up to help fill the whole left by last year’s seniors,” Haywood said. “Again, it’s not easy to play at states, and I was really proud of everyone’s effort.”
Gibson, Goldbach and Matthew Edwards were East Surry’s three seniors this season. Over the past four years, the Class of 2024 helped East Surry achieve: two state championships, one state runner-up trophy, two regional championships, one regional runner-up trophy and four conference championships.
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