EVERETT — Following his coach’s orders, Daniel Kim only took a couple bites of his complimentary post-round burger.
In the event of a playoff, the Kamiak senior needed to be ready to get back on the course.
And he sure was.
Kim blasted a well-struck drive and parred the first hole of a sudden-death playoff, defeating Stanwood’s Conrad Chisman to win the 19th annual Tom Dolan Memorial Invitational on Monday at Everett Golf & Country Club.
“I was a little nervous, I’m gonna be honest,” said Kim, a Washington State University signee. “But after I hit that drive, I knew that I pretty much had it locked in, knowing what kind of player I am and what kind of shots I hit. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
Chisman was on the verge of winning Snohomish County’s largest annual high school golf tournament in regulation, sitting at 4 under par heading into his final hole.
But after bogeying only one of his previous 17 holes, the Stanwood sophomore ended his round with a triple-bogey on the par-4 No. 4.
That left Kim and Chisman tied atop the leaderboard at 1-under 71, setting up a sudden-death playoff to determine the champion.
Kim’s score was among the first to be verified and posted, while Chisman’s was one of the last. During the approximate half-hour gap in between, Kim joined many of the other golfers in the clubhouse for a post-tournament dinner buffet. But he ate lightly.
And when it was determined there would be a playoff, Kim was ready to go.
“I could immediately see in his eyes (that) he got refocused,” Kamiak coach Vic Alinen said. “It doesn’t take him much, because he’s such a competitor.”
Kim opened the playoff by uncorking a brilliant drive, sending his ball soaring into the middle of the narrow, tree-lined fairway on the par-4, 396-yard first hole.
Chisman, meanwhile, sailed his drive to the right. His ball landed on the dirt underneath a tree, which forced him to punch his second shot back onto the fairway instead of taking aim at the green.
“When (Chisman) hit that ball underneath that tree and had to punch out … and Daniel had a free shot, it was over,” Alinen said. “I knew it.
“And Daniel said to me, ‘Coach, I’m gonna win this thing.’ And I said, ‘I believe it, son. I believe in you.’”
Kim stayed in par position with his second stroke, lofting an iron shot onto the front edge of the green.
Chisman didn’t reach the green until his third shot. He made a good effort on his ensuing long par putt, but it went a few inches wide of the hole.
That set the stage for Kim to two-putt for the win. And he did just that.
Kim sent his first putt to within about a foot of the cup, and then tapped in for a championship-clinching par.
Kim joined Dylan Goodwin (2007), Reid Martin (2008) and two-time champion Alvin Kwak (2017 and 2019) as Kamiak golfers who have etched their name on the prestigious Dolan Invitational trophy.
“I for sure wanted to be a part of that,” Kim said. “So it really means a lot to add my name on there.”
After a pair of bogeys, Kim was 2 over through seven holes. But he rebounded in a major way, posting four birdies over a six-hole stretch from holes No. 9 and through No. 14. He bogeyed No. 17, but closed with a par to ultimately force the playoff.
“His goal was to be 4 or 5 under, but it was a struggle with some of his approach shots,” Alinen said. “And he just found a way, which is what he’s always done. When his game’s not A-plus, he figures out how to win, because he’s a competitor.”
Kim also led the Knights to the boys team title. Kamiak topped the team standings with 307 points, finishing 10 points ahead of second-place Jackson and 19 points ahead of third-place Shorewood. It was the Knights’ 10th Dolan Invitational team title in the tournament’s 19 editions.
Kamiak’s scoring was rounded out by freshman Aaron Choi (4-over 76), sophomore Brandon Suh (6-over 78) and junior Sam Stupey (10-over 72).
“That’s what really mattered today,” Kim said of winning the team title. “… It’s really, really special.”
As a freshman in 2019, Kim placed fifth at the Class 4A boys state tournament and played a key role in helping Kamiak win a team state championship that year.
Kim and the Knights didn’t get a chance to add to their state success the past two years. There were no state tournaments in 2020 and 2021, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
But with Kim leading another talented group of Kamiak golfers this season, the Knights are once again eyeing a big showing when the state tournament returns in late May.
“Our (hope) is that we take this same style and compete hard at the state championships,” Alinen said. “And I believe that we’re gonna do that.”
Kim and Chisman were the only two to break par among the 69 golfers in the Dolan Invitational boys field.
Archbishop Murphy junior Nick Ennis, Jackson freshman Henry Kippenhan and Snohomish sophomore Palmer Mutcheson finished in a three-way tie for third place at 2-over 74.
GP WINS INAUGURAL DOLAN GIRLS TITLE
This year marked the first time the Dolan Invitational included a girls division.
Glacier Peak senior Hannah Lee shot a 94 to claim the tournament’s inaugural girls title, finishing six strokes ahead of the next-closest competitor in the 20-golfer field.
Lee also led the Grizzlies to the girls team title. Glacier Peak totaled 312 points, finishing two points ahead of both Jackson and Kamiak. Hailey Stevenson shot a 108 and Lillian Hyatt added a 110 to round out the Grizzlies’ scoring.
“We’re honored to be the first (girls) champions of the Dolan Invite, for sure,” Glacier Peak coach Kelven May said. “And it’s a great course to be able to come out and play something challenging and get them ready for state tournaments and districts and stuff like that.”
May said it was actually a bit of a rough day for Lee and his team as a whole. Lee, for instance, shot a 38 in a recent nine-hole league match.
“She battled through some adversity,” May said. “She had a couple tough holes, but then after a tough hole battled back and did better on the next hole.
“And I think that’s what makes her a really great golfer is that she can forget the bad hole and move on quickly.”
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