Brendon Todd's Third Title Leads Green Hope to First

By JASON FULGINITI

PINEHURST ­– Brendon Todd expected nothing less of himself.

Expected nothing less than those rounds of 70-72 at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club’s No. 4 course, which enabled him to capture the individual title at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4-A Golf Championships in mid-May.

It had nothing to do with the fact that he was coming off a course-record, 9-under 63 at Keith Hills Country Club in Buies Creek, which he had used to earn medalist honors at the Mideast Regional Championships one week earlier.

It had nothing to do with the fact that he was the projected favorite heading into the final tournament of his illustrious high school career ­— a tournament he had won two of the past three years.

And it had nothing to do with the fact that he was chasing history, considering how his latest victory made him just the second player in the history of the NCHSAA in any class ­— and the first since South Mecklenburg’s Chuck Merriam (1963-65) — to win three individual state golf titles.

Truth is, Morrisville Green Hope’s accomplished University of Georgia-bound senior  doesn’t even think about that stuff. All he knows is that he demands the same of himself every time he tees it up, whether he’s playing in the high school state championships or a fund-raising event for a local charity.

“I expect myself to come out here and win,” Todd said, minutes after holding on for a two-shot victory over Greensboro Grimsley’s Jake Chominsky at the NCHSAA 4-A championships. “If I’m playing well I know I can beat anybody.”

And in any conditions, apparently.

Enduring the challenge of a series of swirling, menacing winds that loomed over Pinehurst No. 4 all day, Todd — who had earned a share of the first-round lead with a 2-under 70 — calmly and collectedly countered four bogeys with two birdies and an eagle for a business-like final-round 72, giving him his third 4-A state individual crown in the last four years.

Chominsky, who shared the first-round lead with Todd, carded a 2-over 74 on day two to finish alone in second, two shots off the pace.

“I executed my game plan very well,” said Todd, whose only blemish on an otherwise perfect state championship record came in 2001, when he posted rounds of 74-74 at Pinehurst No. 6 to finish tied for ninth. “During my practice round I figured out where I wanted to hit it off the tee and where I wanted to position my ball. And (during the tournament) I hit the ball well off the tee and made the key putts when I had to, which is nice.

“But really, it was nothing overly special.”

Maybe not to a guy like Todd, who through the years has registered one sparkling round after another on his way to accumulating more hardware than Home Depot. But chances are, the feeling was dramatically different for Todd’s Green Hope teammates, who thanks in large part to another big-league performance from their No. 1 player, were able to take a few memories of their own from Pinehurst.

Fueled by a solid supporting effort from Matt Brearley, who posted rounds of 71-78 to finish tied for ninth individually, Green Hope’s two-day team score of 600 was good enough for a five-shot victory over Grimsley, giving the Falcons their first state team title in any sport in the four-year history of the school.

Mike Broad and Will Shambley also were vital for the Falcons with their scores of 79-79 counting both days.

Even more important, as far as the other 4-A teams in the state were concerned, was that someone was finally able to break the stranglehold of Raleigh Broughton, which had taken home the 4-A team title each of the last five seasons.

Despite posting 298 to take a one-shot lead in the team race after the first round, Broughton imploded in round two, limping in with a 314 that left it alone in fourth place, 12 shots off the pace.

“At the first team meeting, everyone on the team said our goal was to win the state championship and we did it, and I’m proud of (my players) for that,” Green Hope coach David Allen said. “But we weren’t playing against anybody. We just tried to play as well as we could play as a team. We got here as a team and we wanted to leave here (having put together a solid performance) as a team.”

Done.

And as usual, it was Todd carrying the guiding torch.

After stumbling out of the gate in the final round with two bogeys on his first four holes, Todd (who started on the back nine) began to right the ship on the par-4 14th, where he stuck an 8-iron to 10 feet en route to a birdie that got him back to 1-under for the tournament.

The real turning point, however, came three holes later on the par-5 17th, where after landing a dart with a 5-wood within 10 feet of the pin on his second shot, Todd registered an eagle to move to 1-under for the day and 3-under for the tournament.

“That was a big momentum booster,” Todd said. “And I just kind of carried that momentum through the rest of the round.”

Like four holes later on the 487-yard, par-5 second, where after a massive drive, he was able to punch a 9-iron to 30-feet, setting up a two-putt birdie that dropped him to 4-under for the championship. And from that point on, everybody in the field knew it was Todd’s tournament to win. And that he would, despite a pair of errant drives down the stretch that led to bogeys on Nos. 3 and 7.

“Last week at regionals I shot 63 and I didn’t miss a shot,” Todd said. “So all week I just kept practicing hard to keep that same form. Pinehurst golf will test every facet of your game, and (the last two days) I felt like I putted the ball well and put myself in good position off the tee.

“I just didn’t make any big mistakes, and that was the key.”

The key to putting the finishing touches on one dynasty — his own — while simultaneously helping to end another.

 “To win one (state team championship) is great, but to win five is unbelievable,” said Allen, admiring the success of Broughton over the past five years. “We knew we had talented players and we had the luxury of depth all year, which made us think we could win a state title. And it’s gratifying to see that actually happen. This is our first state championship, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Chances are, so was Todd, who while packing his bags for Georgia in the coming months will be able to look back and smile on the day when he got the final word in on high school golf in North Carolina.

Not only for himself, but also for his teammates.