Westlake holds off Lake Travis surge, wins 6th consecutive UIL boys golf championship

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Lake Travis surged up the leaderboard on the final day of the UIL Class 6A boys golf tournament, but it was the steady Westlake Chaparrals who claimed their sixth consecutive state title Tuesday at Legacy Hills Golf Club in Georgetown.

The Chaps shot under par in both rounds of the tournament to finish with a 3-under-par 573 to win in coach Callan Nokes' final season at the helm as he takes over as the school's athletic director. Westlake shot 286 on the tournament's first day Monday, then followed it up with a 287 to win by five shots over the Cavaliers.

"This one was really special because we had to dig really deep for it," Nokes said. "We weren't playing well on the front nine, but we stuck with it and I kept encouraging them to keep battling, and they did."

Westlake sophomore Adam Villanueva fired a pair of 6-under rounds to claim the individual title at 12-under, winning by four shots over Plano West's Ethan Fang. Villanueva was tied for the lead heading into Tuesday with Houston Memorial's Charlie Wylie, but Wylie fell off the pace Tuesday to finish in third at 7-under.

Villanueva and Highland Park's Brooks Simmons shot the best rounds of the day Tuesday, both turning in scores of 66. Henry Stone finished tied for 12th at 2-over while Blake Burt and Kevin Mu tied for 20th at 4-over.

Villanueva said when he stumbled in the past, it was all because of the pressure. Whether he could feel people watching him or nerves getting him standing over a putt, he said he's learned from that and is now much better at blocking out the noise and letting his skills take over.

"I've learned from my mistakes, and the older I get, the more I realize that's what you have to do to win tournaments is keep a steady head," Villanueva said.

The Cavaliers made an aggressive move up the leaderboard with the best team performance of the final round, shooting a 3-under 285. That was two shots better than Westlake's second round, and the Cavs were led by junior Ethan Dufrense who finished tied for fifth at 4-under. Connor Smith finished in seventh at 2-under for the tournament. Lake Travis began the day tied for fifth and rose to runner-up with an 8-shot improvement from Monday.

Vandegrift sophomore Jaxon Bandelier finished tied for 12th at 2-over, shooting two rounds of 73. Westwood senior Luke Hagen improved four shots from his first round to finish tied for 41st at 8-over.

In the Class 5A tournament at White Wing Golf Club, Georgetown finished eighth, led by junior Sam Stribling. He shot and even-par 72 on Tuesday to finish tied for ninth at 3-over.

Cedar Park's Jonathan Kim, competing as an individual, turned in the best round of the day Tuesday with a 5-under 67 to finish in third at 3-under.

Wimberley junior Jaxon Donaldson claimed the Class 4A state title with a score of 8-under, including a 6-under 66 on Tuesday for the best round of the day. The Texans finished fourth as a team, three shots behind Sulphur Springs, at Legends Golf Course in Kingsland. Lampasas finished ninth and Marble Falls finished 10th.