Team approach lifts Nathan Chuwait, Jefferson to 5A North region golf title
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Version 0 of 1. Jefferson senior Nathan Chuwait twisted his 58-degree pitching wedge in his hands and exhaled as he placed the club head just behind his ball on the first fairway at Brambleton Golf Course on Wednesday evening. Chuwait had already hit dozens of stellar shots en route to a 4-under par 68, the best score of any individual at the Virginia 5A North region championship. This shot, though, mattered more than the rest. He was playing in a tie-breaking sudden-death hole against North Stafford, and a team title was on the line. “We’ve come in second in regions the past two years,” Chuwait said. “We wanted to get the win.” Sticking with a trend he established hours earlier, Chuwait laced a clean approach with that 58-degree wedge, spinning his shot from 93 yards out to within three feet of the cup. Minutes later, he tapped in a birdie putt that helped Jefferson’s four top golfers best North Stafford’s by three strokes on the sudden-death hole to clinch the elusive regional championship. The Colonials would have qualified for next week’s state tournament even without winning the tiebreaker. But had they lost, the post-event trophy presentation would have felt much different. “We work really hard as a team and after all these close calls, it’s really nice that we can come out with a championship,” said Christine Wang, who finished with a four-over 76. Behind Wang and Chuwait, Jefferson posted a 310 team score, matching North Stafford’s mark and ensuring a spot in the state tournament. Min Kang (81) and Millen Anand (85) also posted qualifying scores for the Colonials. Wang felt as if she put her team in jeopardy after double bogeying consecutive holes on the front nine. Her short irons were falling short and she couldn’t find the right speed on the greens. The junior rectified those issues on the back nine, however, and birdied two of the final three regulation holes to post the tournament’s fourth-best score. “Christine’s the kind of player who will always tell me she’s playing so bad and she’s not hitting her shots,” Coach John Myers said. “Then you looked up, and she has a great score. She’s a terrific player.” Myers had plenty of praise for Chuwait, too. The composed senior didn’t bogey a single hole all day, and routinely stroked irons that landed within 20 feet of the pin on a victorious afternoon for himself and his team. “I managed to hit a few good approach shot,” Chuwait said, “and my putting was there to make birdies. It’s frustrating when you hit good shots and can’t finish, but today I put it together.” Stone Bridge senior Eli Robertson was the lone other local to qualify for the state tournament with a 4-over 76. |