Fike’s Boyette registers 2nd straight top-10 finish at NCHSAA championships

SOUTHERN PINES — Ethan Boyette’s high school golf career didn’t end the way he’d long dreamed it would — hoisting a state championship trophy — but the Fike High senior braved a downpour Tuesday, May 14, to shoot a 2-under-par 70 in the final round of the NCHSAA 3-A championship at Longleaf Golf and Family Club.

Boyette, who carded an even-par 72 in Monday’s opening round, finished in a four-way tie for sixth place with a 142, giving him two straight top-10 finishes at the state championship. He tied for fourth last year and has played in four straight state 3-A tournaments.

“Didn’t play the way I really wanted to, kind of struggling with some approach shots that I wish I could have hit a little bit closer, then just didn’t make the putts I needed to today,” Boyette said in a telephone interview Tuesday evening. “I hit the ball a lot better today. Gave myself really good opportunities, just didn’t capitalize on the green today. It stinks to come up short but you can’t always play your best. But today the rain was really tough, so I knew what I had to do: I knew I had to take it low today after yesterday and I knew it was going to be a challenge but, to be honest, I think I could have done that if I would have just made some putts.”

Boyette’s final round was the fourth lowest of the day but it wasn’t nearly enough. Some years that might have good enough to win a state championship, such as 2017 when Boyette’s older brother, Bryson, shot a 73-70—143 at Foxfire Village Golf and Resort’s Red Fox Course to win the 3-A title as a senior at Fike.

Unfortunately, Ethan Boyette’s senior year came in one of the most competitive 3-A championships ever. Rich Wills of Cramerton Stuart Cramer posted a 67-69—136 for the sixth-lowest championship score in NCHSAA history, regardless of classification, to win the individual title.

Seniors Ethan Paschal, who shot a 65 Monday, and Thomas Horne tied for second behind Wills to lead Fayetteville Terry Sanford to its second straight team championship and fifth overall. The Bulldogs’ two-round score of 567 set an NCHSAA championship record — until it was broken later in the day by Pinecrest with a 562 at Pinehurst No. 9 in the 4-A championship.

Boyette managed three birdies in Tuesday’s final round, half of which was played in a downpour, he said.

“It was awful,” Boyette said. “Nobody had hats on because they were so heavy with water.  … I’ve only experienced that one other time.”

Boyette said that he knew before the first round ended that he was facing a major uphill climb with 11 players separating him and first-day leader Paschal, despite only six strokes between them.

“I’ve never really been bummed out after even-par round but yesterday, I knew it,” Boyette said. “Coming off 18, I knew that’s just not gonna get it done.”

While the disappointment of not winning a state title will sting, Boyette looked on the bright side of the positive experience that plenty of high school golfers never get to have.

“I get to see my friends and everything,” he said. “Just have a blast and get to play from the practice round all the way to the final round. And in between the rounds, going to the resort and everything, hanging out with friends and family. It was a blast!”

Boyette’s golf career is far from over. The UNC Wilmington signee hopes to qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur for a third straight year and plans to play in some high-profile events as well as the Larry Pittman Memorial Wilson County Junior Golf Championship, if his schedule permits.

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