TAVARES — A mere 24 hours after a frigid opening round of the Class 2A state tournament, St. Petersburg senior Jack Maguire returned to Deer Island Country Club bedecked in khaki shorts and a black Green Devils golf shirt.
“I don’t like wearing sleeves and layers and stuff,” said Maguire, who will formally sign his letter of intent with Florida State later this month. “So if I don’t need to, I don’t like to.”
Turned out, the only thing more auspicious than Maguire’s short legwear and short sleeves was his short game.
Playing in his fifth and final state tournament, Maguire made the turn at 4-under par Wednesday en route to a 68 to capture the individual title by two strokes. His two-day total of 3-under 141 was two better than Plant High senior Brad White.
Maguire becomes Pinellas County’s first individual boys state champ since Seminole’s Wink Amerman in 1996. As a team, the Green Devils finished in a tie for sixth (626).
“It’s a good feeling,” said Maguire, who still faced a brisk wind but more warmth Wednesday (mid-50s temperatures) on a Deer Island course surrounded by two lakes.
“There are a lot of good players, and it’s always good after kind of struggling in the first round to go out and just make a lot of birdies.”
Newsome was the highest-placing Tampa Bay team, coming in third (614), four shots behind champion Lakewood Ranch. Sophomore Tyler Bakich, whose mother, former LPGA Tour champion Colleen Walker, is battling bone cancer, led the Wolves with 5-under 67 on Day 2.
Starting Wednesday’s round on the back nine, Maguire birdied the par-3 13th, and did the same on Nos. 16, 17 and 18 to go 4-under at the turn. He then hit par on his last nine holes.
Among his best putts: an uphill 20-footer on the 13th that went left to right.
“I only missed one fairway today, so I put myself in good position,” said Maguire, who tied for fifth at the Class A tournament as an eighth-grader in 2008. “There were a lot of putts that were just hanging on the edge all day. ...Those putts were just good line, good speed. Putting was just pretty strong today.”
Complementing Maguire’s blistering round was classmate Jake Kevorkian, who, like many in the 96-player field, watched his game warm up with the weather. Kevorkian followed his 80 on Tuesday with 70.
“(The wind) calmed down a little bit today,” Maguire said. “But it was still blowing pretty hard toward the back nine. But the temperature was a lot better today, so I didn’t have to deal with that.”
Class 2A girls: Palm Harbor University finished 15th in the 16-team field with a two-day total of 748 at Harbor Hills Country Club in Lady Lake. Lauren Coe led the Hurricanes with a second straight 77 for a final score of 154. She placed seventh overall. Ryan Pierce shot 87 Wednesday for a total of 183. Lake Mary won the tournament with a 660.
Haydyn Gibson of Osceola shot a second-round 83 for a total of 163. She finished tied for 19th. Carly Goldstein of Coral Glades was the individual winner with 4-under 140.
Class A boys: Clearwater Central Catholic finished 12th at Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howey-in-the-Hills with a score of 663. Every CCC player shot better on Wednesday. Ryan Orr, a Florida commit, led the way with 76 to finish with a two-day total of 156. Andrew Heric had the Marauders’ low round of the day, 1-over, 73. Plantation American Heritage won with a score of 605, behind medalist Jorge Garcia’s 5-over 149.
Calvary Christian’s Zach Wood shot 86 to finish with a 167 total, tied for 50th. Teammate Ben Murray shot 81 and finished with 168, tied for 54th.
Class A girls: Northside Christian moved up five places at Mission Hills Resort and Club to finish tied for seventh with 674. Alison Armstrong had the team’s low round with 79. Windermere Prep won the team title with 608.
Clearwater Central Catholic’s Emma Paschal shot 84 and finished with a 165 total to tie for 39th. Windermere Prep’s Simin Feng shot 145 and won a playoff over Lake Mary Prep’s Sierra Brooks for the individual championship.
Staff writer Rodney Page contributed to this report.