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Notre Dame senior Landon Ashcraft became the first Arizona high school golfer to win three straight individual state titles on Oct. 30 in the Division II boys tournament at Aguila Golf Course in Laveen.
He led Notre Dame to its second straight D-II state championship. It came two weeks before he will sign his national letter of intent with Texas A&M.
He shot 65 on the first day and 70 on the second day to go 9-under par at 135 to win.
Ashcraft edged out teammate Frederick Egnatios, who had a two-day total of 136. Easton Reischi of Horizon was third at 137 and Notre Dame’s Xander Mulder was fourth, one shot behind Reischi at 138.
“It was quite the few days at state and super excited to come out with the win,” Ashcraft said. “Going into the tournament, I truly felt like I was going to accomplish this.
“My game had never felt better, especially compared to my sophomore and junior years. I hadn’t lost to anyone all season leading up to state, so that definitely gave me confidence.”
The weight of trying to become the first in Arizona high school golfer to win three state titles didn’t seem to rattle him during the tournament.
“This accomplishment means a lot to me,” he said. “Being the first person in Arizona history to win three state titles is pretty surreal. After all the talk leading up to the tournament about possibly making history, to actually back it up with a win, was one of the proudest moments of my career so far.”
Notre Dame coach Scott Watkins compares Ashcraft to a five-tool baseball player who has it all.
“I don’t know how many tools we have in golf, but he pretty much has them all,” Watkins said. “He hits it long. He hits it straight. He hits good approach shots. He’s a good chipper, a good putter.
“What’s really turned the corner, in my opinion, in the last year and a half, is his mental game. That switch flipped and it’s been awesome to watch.
Scottsdale Desert Mountain finished second to Notre Dame, followed by Tucson Catalina Foothills and Phoenix Arcadia, which tied for third.
Girls D-II
In the girls Division II tournament, Scottsdale Chaparral won the team title, shooting a two-day total 611 with runnerup Tucson Catalina Foothills 64 shots back.
Tyla Greenwood of Tucson Mica Mountain won the individual state title with a two-day total 141.
Seton Catholic’s Cynthia Lang was second at 143, followed by ALA Gilbert North’s Lexi Goyen and Cactus Shadows’ Charlene Lamb, who tied for third at 146.
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don’t miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
