Rebne drops putts, then medalist trophy at Gordon Lee Invitational

Ben Rebne
Ben Rebne

RISING FAWN, Ga. -- Ben Rebne earned the medalist trophy Saturday at the Gordon Lee Invitational tournament.

He shot a 3-under-par 68 at Canyon Ridge Golf Club.

Then, during the post-round ceremony, the Heritage High School junior dropped the top half of the trophy onto the stone grounds of the pavilion.

"It was like Rory (McIlroy) at the PGA championship last year," said chuckling Gordon Lee sophomore Justin Hickman, who finished six shots off the lead.

Rebne made five birdies and tied the tournament record with his 68. It was set last year by Jacob Morgan of LaFayette, who was the runner-up this year with an even-par 71.

"Ben earned it today," Morgan said. "I didn't beat myself. He went out there and beat me. He tied the record, so our records will hopefully be there for a while."

Hickman placed third, Gunter Jordan of Sonoraville finished fourth and Sport Allmond of Heritage was fifth with a 77.

But Rebne shaved nine strokes off his last competitive round -- an 80 on Tuesday at The Farm in the final round of the North Georgia Invitational.

photo Ben Rebne

"Putting -- that's all I did for a few days," said Rebne, the son of Council Fire professional Richard Rebne. "My short game was awful at The Farm. But that's golf -- good days and bad days.

"Today was one of those really good days."

The top three finishers all played in the same group Saturday, beginning at hole No. 1 in the tournament's shotgun start. Rebne, Morgan and Hickman combined to shoot even par.

"We all had a good time," said Hickman, who followed his birdie on No. 1 with a triple-bogey on No. 2. "I tried to forget what I was shooting. It was fun to watch Ben and Jacob play good.

"I'm glad I turned it around after the start."

Morgan had a shot at retaining his championship trophy from last year. He stayed within striking distance of Rebne until the par-5 No. 12. Morgan, a senior, and Rebne both had birdie putts. Rebne made his. Morgan settled for par and fell three strokes off the lead.

"I hit a 3-wood as a layup and then hit my 58-degree wedge to about 10 feet," Rebne said. "At that point, I was feeling really good with my putter, and that putt wasn't that hard to read. After I made it, I was thinking, 'I want to make more birdies.'"

Rebne played his final six holes in even par. So did Morgan, who crept back within two after a birdie on No. 13. But he gave it back with a three-putt bogey on the last hole.

"I'm not going to lie, it's pretty nice to win a high school tournament," Rebne said. "I'll win a few different summer tournaments, but the difference is that my friends get to see how well I can play."

Morgan's 71 helped the Ramblers claim the team title even though coach Tom Langford attended a different golf tournament with his son Saturday. LaFayette shot a 307, which beat runner-up Heritage by 10 shots and third-place Northwest Whitfield by 24.

Gordon Lee placed fourth at 332 and was followed in order by Jackson County, Sonoraville, Pickens County, Calhoun and Christian Heritage.

"I called Coach and he was real excited for the boys," assistant coach Matt Swanson said. "Our depth is what allows us to put up good scores. We got a 75 from Matt Ingram, who plays No. 5 for us.

"We're improving, and when we get to the region tournament we want to have four scores in the 70s. So having a taste of victory should help us build on that."

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.

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