Gutsy shot led to state golf title for Stanwood’s Chisman

For a moment after a double bogey at the Class 3A state boys golf tournament, Stanwood High School’s Conrad Chisman began to doubt himself.

Was his lead about to slip away?

That’s when his coach reminded him that he’s pretty great at golf. Great turned in to excellence when a gutsy shot on the 18th and final hole of his high school career made Chisman a champion.

“He seemed relieved,” said Stanwood golf coach Halen Davis, who finished fourth in state for Stanwood as a senior in 2014. “He knew he had a good shot going into it this year, and he was very focused. All his hard work and dedication paid off.”

Chisman shot a 70 on the first day of the two-round tournament on May 21 at Hawks Prairie Golf Course — The Links in Lacey to earn a three-stroke lead. The Seattle University-bound senior struggled at times on the front nine the next day. His tee shot on the 423-yard par-4 fifth hole landed in the water, and he ended up with a double bogey.

He then bogeyed No. 8 and felt frustration building. That’s when Davis approached Chisman and reminded him that he was the best player on the course, and that it was time to trust himself.

“To hear that was refreshing for me,” said Chisman, whose two-round total of 143 edged Ferndale’s Baylor Larrabee by a single stroke. “It helped me out a lot. I was able to birdie hole 9 after that, and I felt way more calm.”

Chisman needed those active nerves gone for the 561-yard par-5 final hole, when an all-in decision made all the difference.

He hit a strong drive off the 18th tee, and then stared down a tree that sits in the middle of the fairway guarding against attempts of second shots reaching the green. That tree has blocked many brave attempts at aggressiveness. Those who try to force their way around it to the green often end up going too wide and sending the ball out of bounds. He decided that laying up — taking a safer shot that would give him a good chance at par — wasn’t going to be enough to win a championship.

“I knew I had to make a birdie,” said Chisman, who finished in the top four the previous two seasons. “I usually don’t go for that green, because it’s such a difficult shot.”

“I had to make a decision on whether to lay up or go for it. I decided to go for it.”

He pulled out his 2-iron and hit what Chisman described as a “big snapping draw” that landed just off the green. He then chipped it to 3 feet from the cup and tapped in for the birdie that led to his one-stroke victory.

There was no pumping of the fist to celebrate, though, as he had to wait for other golfers to finish. The golfers played together as teams rather than putting all the individual leaders in the last group like many events. Chisman and Davis walked back to watch another top competitor finish the last few holes.

Chisman turned out to be correct. The birdie on 18 was the difference, along with a lot of hard work through the year and growing belief.

“The hard work equals confidence out on the course,” Chisman said. “Having that confidence and being able to trust yourself out there is everything.”