Moments of the Year is a series of stories reflecting on performances, plays or games that occurred during the 2021-22 school year. Installations of the series will be released regularly throughout the summer, leading in to the beginning of the 2022-23 school year.
Zan Hill entered his senior season at Woodrow Wilson this past August with high hopes of a strong year on the golf links.
Those hopes turned into a reality when Hill survived a wild nine holes on the final day of the Class AAA state golf tournament last October in Wheeling.
Trailing by one shot after an opening round 79 Tuesday, Hill came home with a 75 Wednesday to become the Class AAA individual state champion golfer for 2021.
“Today was the best experience that I have had in golf,” Hill said after the win. “It took me four years to do this, so I put today as No. 1.”
There was good reason for the high expectations at the start of the year.
Hill was coming off a strong junior season in which he was the driving force in Woodrow’s state tournament run. He finished fourth overall in the individual competition that year and earned all-state honors.
The young phenom had even recorded a hole-in-one during the state tournament on the always tough Speidel Course at Oglebay Park.
In the tough conditions that always come with state tournament golf, Hill had one simple plan for the final round. Hit fairways, make pars and stay away from the big numbers were the keys.
Hill did not get a great start making two bogeys in the first three holes, but he steadied the ship and went to the back nine with a one-shot lead over first round leader Cameron Jarvis from Cabell Midland.
The final nine holes was an instant classic with both competitors trading titanic blows with the championship title on the line.
“At that point in the tournament I felt like the players that had the potential to win was narrowing and I was playing with one of them,” Hill said. “(Cameron) birdied 10 and the last eight holes were a dogfight.”
Hill again faced adversity when he bogeyed No. 12 and followed that up with a double-bogey at hole 13.
Now trailing by one shot, Hill had to come up big at the par-5 14th hole to not fall farther behind.
“(Cameron) is pretty long, and he hit it on the green and had an eagle putt. There is water in front of the green, so he hit a great shot,” Hill recalled. “I hit a 6-iron to 60-yards and stuck my third shot to like a foot. He two-putted and we both birdied.”
Three straight pars, coupled with two bogeys and a double-bogey from Jarvis gave Hill what looked to be a commanding three-shot lead with one hole to play.
However, looks were deceiving.
Hill had to absorb one more tense moment and make a pressure putt for the win.
Jarvis’ length again came into play on the final hole and the Cabell Midland junior hit three quality shots leaving him just over one foot for birdie.
While his only competition for the title was staring at a sure birdie, Hill faced a lengthy putt for bogey to secure the title.
Hill was true on the most pressure-packed putt of his young career.
“I made an eight-footer for a bogey on 18, which felt nice,” Hill said. “He hit a really good shot. It was a crazy round, but one I will never forget.”
