Owen Jessop Is First Westhampton Beach Golfer Ever To Win Suffolk County Championship

Nothing fazes Owen Jessop. Not even being down five shots through six holes and chasing the leader by seven shots with 10 holes to play.

That was the scenario that the Westhampton Beach junior faced on the second day of the Section XI Boys Golf Championships on Tuesday at Spring Lake Golf Club in Middle Island, but somehow, just as he did a week earlier at the Conference IV Championships, Jessop not only dug himself out of a pretty big hole, he won it all. Shooting a 32 on the back nine to force a playoff with Riverhead’s Colby Baran, Jessop stormed back to become the first-ever Westhampton Beach golfer to win the county individual title.

Jessop said since the first time he played in the county tournament four years ago, it’s been his dream to win it.

“I can definitely say it’s my favorite tournament,” he said. “I love playing against the best kids in the county. Going head-to-head with them is pretty fun. There’s no better feeling than winning. It was incredible, I’ve always wanted to do it, especially for coach. He’s such an incredible coach, the best coach I could ask for. I really wanted to do it for him since he’s never had a county champion before. It means so much to him and it feels great to finally give that to him.”

Westhampton Beach head coach Fred Musumeci has had some prime golfers, especially recently. But when people asked him who his number one golfer is these days, he’d say he had two — Jessop and sophomore Zach Berger, who actually placed third with a two-day total of 149, one shot away from playing in that one-hole playoff that decided it all. In fact, it would have been Musumeci’s dream had his two golfers played for the county title in that playoff, but what Jessop did on Tuesday left his head coach in awe.

Both Berger and Jessop were tied for fifth place after finishing with 75s on day one, five shots behind the leader Zach Herrmann. Jessop got off to one of the worst starts Musumeci ever saw from him, falling back as many as five shots through six holes.

“So, at this point, my focus in watching shifts from, okay, we’re not worried about winning the tournament now, we’re focusing on just making the state team and finishing top nine,” Musumeci said.

Berger was playing well, shooting even through six holes. Jessop was still struggling a little bit, but Musumeci said, true to form, showing no emotion whatsoever, Jessop started to hit the ball better, and after he dropped an eagle putt on nine, it was like he caught fire. He went for par on 10, but then eagled 11 and birdied 14. All the while, the tide started to turn, where everyone else started to struggle. All of a sudden, Jessop is just two shots off the leader, Baran, who missed a short putt on 17 to make it just a one-shot lead going into the 18th and final hole.

Jessop took his time on his final approach on 18, hitting a 5-iron 225 yards to put himself about 10 feet from the hole. Baran made par, so an eagle putt would have won it for Jessop, but he just missed it, instead birdying the putt and forcing the one-hole playoff.

Jessop hit a good drive off the tee but the wind took the ball into a tree where it actually took a decent bounce. Still, Jessop had to get his approach shot under a tree limb, which he was able to do, putting the ball 20 feet from the pin. He made his shot from par for the win.

“That was very nerve-wracking, to say the least,” Jessop said of his playoff hole. “I can’t say I wasn’t nervous, I just knew that I had to do something. Once I hit the birdie and then chipped in for eagle on 1, and had a couple of really good putts down the stretch, as the lead got more narrow, I definitely got more nervous because I was starting to make a little comeback. I just had to keep my nerves in check, grind it out and play really, really well.”

Musumeci said it was a memorable performance by Jessop, for sure.

“Once he rolled in that birdie on nine, he was a different person,” he said. “The shot he hit onto that green on 18, under heavy, heavy pressure says a lot about that kid. Talent is one thing, but he’s got guts. About as gutsiest of a performance as I’ve ever seen. He certainly earned it.”

With Jessop’s victory and Berger’s third-place finish, the two Hurricanes finished well within the top nine in the county to make the cut for the New York Sate Championships, which won’t be played until June at the Mark Twain Golf Course in Elmira. There were many other South Fork golfers who vied to be on the team, but Jessop and Berger will only be joined by one other golfer, Southampton senior Liam Blackmore, who evened Jessop on day two to finish sixth in the county.

Blackmore was one of five Mariners who competed at counties. Both Blackmore and sophomore Ethan Heuer made the cut for day two. Heuer finished 11th, just a few shots shy of the state team, but he did earn All-County honors.

East Hampton’s Nico Horan-Puglia, Carter Dickinson and Cole DeLand each reached the second day of the tournament. Horan-Puglia, seeking a third straight appearance at the state tournament, finished with a two-day total of 154, missing the cut for the state team by one shot. Dickinson shot a 168 and Deland a 166.

Hampton Bays senior Erik Sandstrom shot an 82 on Monday to qualify for the second day on Tuesday, when he shot an 80. His senior teammate, Mike Poremba, shot a 98 to miss the cut on Monday. Pierson senior Nathan Dee shot a 95 on Monday, also missing the cut for the second day of the tournament.

The golf season isn’t over just quite yet. The Section XI Team Tournament Championship begins Thursday with several of the South Fork teams competing. Southampton earned the fifth seed and will play the winner of No. 12 Bayport-Blue Point/No. 21 Smithtown West on Monday. No. 11 Westhampton Beach hosted No. 22 Shoreham-Wading River, No. 14 East Hampton hosted No. 19 Hauppauge and No. 23 Pierson played at No. 10 Half Hollow Hills East all on Thursday.