Top 20 finishes
- Updated: July 23, 2020
Anniston second-round co-leader Okins finishes T-5, Centre’s Sawyer T-19; Fairhope’s Johnson wins by 4
By East Alabama Sports Today
SCOTTSBORO – Anniston’s Kenny Okins and Centre’s Mark Sawyer both had top 20 finishes in the 75th Alabama Boys State Junior Championship.
Okins, a rising senior at White Plains, went into Thursday’s final round at Goose Pond Colony holding a share of the lead after two rounds in the 60s. He posted a 1-over-par 73 Thursday and finished tied for fifth.
Fairhope’s Max Johnson, who shared the lead with Okins, zoomed to the title with a 5-under 67 to finish at 14-under 202. He won by four shots.
“I started off kind of rough today but was able to bring it back,” Okins said. “But even then I just wasn’t making the same amount of putts I made earlier in the week.
“Even though I finished not exactly how I wanted to, I was very happy with my top five finish.”
Okins double bogeyed No. 4 on the Lake Course for the second day in a row to fall three shots off the lead, but birdied 7 and 8 to turn in even par. He got to 1-under for the day with a birdie at 11 but bogeyed 15 and 17 – holes he birdied the day before to grab a share of the lead – to finish the day over par.
Sawyer, a rising junior at Cedar Bluff, bounced back from a 76 that knocked him out of the first-round lead with a 1-under 71 to finished tied for 19that 4-under 212. He was 2-under the day through 11 and gave one back on 16.
“Today was a stellar day of ball striking with few putts that fell in,” Sawyer said. “Overall, it was a solid final round to add to a solid week.”
Both Sawyer and Okins birdied 11 of the course’s 18 holes during the week.
Champion Johnson, an incoming freshman at Auburn, won the tournament with three rounds in the 60s. He was 6-under for the day through 15 to pull clear of the field, then bogeyed 16. He made only three bogeys in 54 holes.
“I accomplished all of my goals,” Johnson said. “I was finally able to put together a good round on the last day.”
Alabama Boys State Junior
At Goose Pond Colony, Scottsboro
(Top 10)
Max Johnson, Fairhope 66-69-67—202
Davis Aaron, Northport 68-70-68—206
Gregory Jones, Mobile 66-70-70—206
Justin Olive, Florence 69-70-68—207
Nick Dunlap, Huntsville 69-70-69—208
Kenny Okins, Anniston 67-68-73—208
Will Patrick, Oneonta 75-67-67—209
Robert Davidson, Trussville 71-69-69—209
Jones Free, Selma 71-66-72—209
Seven players T-10 at 210
T-19 Mark Sawyer, Centre 65-76-71—212
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