Brayden Casolari has made a habit of making history as a Harlan County High School golfer.
Casolari, a junior who is one of the state’s top youth golfers, won the Region 10 Tournament at General Burnside Island State Park in Somerset on Tuesday as he shot a four-under par 67 and then edged Wayne County’s Kooper Gehring in a two-hole playoff.
“One of my goals for my high school career was to win region,” Casolari said. “With that, I knew I had to go into today with my head in the game and give it my best. I finished today with no three putts, which is also one of my goals. I saved par when needed and birdied when I could.”
Casolari could have won on the first playoff hole but missed a 3-foot putt. He had a par on the second playoff hole and won when Gehring bogeyed.
Harlan County senior Alex Creech also qualified for state competition with a seven-over par 76. Cole Cornett barely missed the state tournament cut as he finished with a 78. Zayden Casolari shot an 84, and Carson Clark finished with a 92.
Casolari finished sixth in the region as a freshman. He missed last year’s regional to compete in the prestigious Pure Insurance Championship in Pebble Beach, Calif.
North Laurel won the team title with a 296, followed by Pulaski County with a 298 and Harlan County with a 306.
“Over my two years of coaching, this team has made several accomplishments and today was one of them. We were able to shoot the lowest team round in school history. All the hard-work and dedication has paid off for this team, and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Harlan County coach Brendan Rutherford said. “I also couldn’t be more proud of my two boys who qualified to move on in the postseason. Brayden was able to make school history by winning our first regional title as an individual. And I am so happy to say that my only senior, Alex, will also be continuing. They will both forever be able to say they accomplished great things for Harlan County golf.”