One year after cementing his status as one of the best boys golfers in Oregon high school history, Lake Oswego's Drew Woolworth can move into uncharted territory this year.
The Georgia-bound senior, who tied a state-tournament record last year by shooting 11-under par at the OGA Golf Course in Woodburn, can become the first three-time state champion in the big-school classification Monday and Tuesday in the 6A tournament at Emerald Valley Golf & Resort in Creswell.
“He wants to be the best Oregon player that we've ever had,” Lake Oswego coach Adam Ruben said of Woolworth, who shot 7-under to win the 2024 title at Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks. “It's pretty cool to watch him play. He's definitely going to be missed.”
The left-handed Woolworth is the top-rated player in 6A this season, shooting an average of 68.8 in five tournaments. He also was the medalist at an AJGA tournament in Sacramento in early April, carding 69-68-66 and winning a playoff with a long putt.
As good as Woolworth has been the last two seasons, Ruben believes he has taken it up a notch this year. The refinement of Woolworth's short game should pay off inside the narrow fairways at Emerald Valley, where as a freshman he shot 5-over 149 and placed 11th in the state tournament.
“Inside 150 yards, there's been a ton of improvement when it comes to shot trajectory, shot shape,” Ruben said. “Emerald Valley, with his length, he should be fine with it. With the narrowness, we've been talking about him just using his mini-driver. It spins enough to keep it from really getting into trouble and it carries 290, which his all you really need.”
Woolworth cruised to the title by eight strokes in each of the last two years, but this year, the competition appears to be improved. Among the contenders is West Linn senior Luke Sidhu, who beat Woolworth by one stroke in the Three Rivers League district tournament by shooting a 7-under 65.
“I don't think he missed a shot,” Ruben said of Sidhu, a transfer from Wilsonville, where he was 5A runner-up in 2024 and placed third in 2025.
It was a reminder that a player can catch fire and challenge Woolworth, who is No. 28 in the AJGA national rankings.
“Drew definitely takes it as motivation,” Ruben said. “I don't think it's something that's going to affect him that much because he knows you have to have that mentality of, 'I'm the best, and no matter what, no one's going to beat me.'”
Lake Oswego has more at stake than Woolworth's three-peat bid. The Lakers are going for a repeat team title and their third championship in four seasons. They have won a state-record 11 titles.
Lake Oswego has the state's top-scoring team this season, followed Summit (5A), West Linn and Westview. The Lakers are a veteran crew, returning all four of their scorers from last year's state tournament in Woolworth (first), junior Nathan Pai (tied for 22nd) and seniors Jimmy Keyser (tied for 45th) and Nate Cheriel (tied for 48th).
Still, West Linn has been a formidable foe. The Lions not only beat Lake Oswego by five strokes to win the season-opening Canby Invitational, but won three of six Three Rivers League tournaments, including a four-stroke victory in the district tournament May 4 at Stone Creek Golf Club. In two of those West Linn wins, though, Woolworth was not available.
The Lakers played a practice round at Emerald Valley last week and went over each hole on a video call this week with Carson Barry of the Golf Farm.
“We've got a good feel for it,” Ruben said. “It's definitely the toughest of the golf courses that we've played for state tournaments. Long, narrow, firm – a good test of golf for everybody.”
A preview of the state tournaments, Monday and Tuesday:
Boys
6A, Emerald Valley Golf & Resort, Creswell
District No. 1 teams: Lincoln, Westview, Sherwood, Nelson, Lake Oswego, South Salem, Grants Pass
2025 state tournament: Lake Oswego 609, Westview 612, Central Catholic 616, Lakeridge 618
Top returning state placers: 1. Drew Woolworth, Lake Oswego, sr.; 3. Alex Yang, Westview, sr.; T4. Cade McVicker, West Linn, sr.; T4. Hudson O'Connell, Sherwood, soph.; T7. Moses Haddad, Lakeridge, soph.; T7. Cisse Noriyasu, Mountainside, jr.
Notes: After dominating the last two years, this state tournament could the most competitive for Woolworth. McVicker and Clackamas senior David Lim beat him in the Canby Invitational on March 16, and West Linn senior Luke Sidhu edged him by a stroke at district. … Grants Pass senior Carson Krauss, who tied for third in 2023 and 2024 and tied for 10th last year, ranks second in 6A scoring this season. … Westview won a 17-team 6A State Preview tournament April 30 at Emerald Valley, shooting 310 to beat Sherwood (313) and Sheldon (316). Noriyasu shot even-par 72 to share medalist honors with Westview senior Jake Rodgers and Sherwood senior Tiger Lu.
5A, Tokatee Golf Course, McKenzie
District No. 1 teams: Canby, Thurston, Corvallis, Summit
2025 state tournament: Corvallis 626, Summit 635, La Salle Prep 638, Canby 647
Top returning state placers: 1. Connor Holden, Canby, soph.; 2. Bryden Ditty, Summit, jr.; T6. Bryce Grieb, Summit, sr.; T8. Matthew Martin, La Salle Prep, jr.; 10. Chase Brown, Corvallis, sr.
Notes: Summit was steamrolling toward a fourth consecutive state title last year, leading by four strokes after one round, before faltering on the second day. The Storm is looking to make up for that lapse behind the Utah State-bound Grieb and Ditty. Summit's 5A-leading scoring average this season is 20 strokes better than the next 5A team, Thurston. … Holden, who became Canby's first state champion last year, leads 5A scoring. His average round of 1.95-under par outpaces Eagle Point junior Jordan Giles (1.93-under) and Grieb (1.10-under). … In the 5A State Preview at Tokatee on May 7, Grieb shot 67 to beat Thurston sophomore Landyn Lounsbury (71) and Holden (73).
4A, Emerald Valley Golf & Resort, Creswell
District No. 1 teams: Seaside, Madras/Culver, Cascade, Marshfield, Mazama, Pendleton/Griswold
2025 state tournament: Seaside 640, Marist Catholic 647, North Bend 662, Baker/Powder Valley 665
Top returning state placers: 3. Xanh Quang, Seaside, sr.; 5. Elias Long, Baker/Powder Valley, sr.; T7. Landon Neistadt, Pendleton/Griswold, sr.; 13. Grant Hemelstrand, Cascade, jr.; T14. Tripp Murphy, Marist Catholic, soph.
Notes: Of the 14 Oregon teams that played in the 4A State Preview at Emerald Valley on April 29, Marist Catholic (324), St. Helens (343) and Pendleton/Griswold (346) led the way. Madras senior Tate Alire (75) was the top Oregon finisher, beating Quang and Marist Catholic junior CJ Jones by three strokes. … Quang is the leading 4A scorer this season at 0.30-under par, well ahead of the next two, Long (2.10-over) and Alire (3.81-over). … Pendleton/Griswold (30.38-over), Marist Catholic (32.13-over) and Cascade (40.92-over) have the best team scoring averages.
3A/2A/1A, Tokatee Golf Course, McKenzie
Special district No. 1 teams: Banks, Blanchet Catholic, Bandon, Burns/Crane
2025 state tournament: Bandon 580, Valley Catholic 629, Oregon Episcopal 630, Western Christian 641
Top returning state placers: 1. Davis Hartwell, Crosspoint Christian, sr.; 2. Sevren Quinn, Bandon, jr.; T6. Braedon Millhouser, Bandon, jr.; T6. Benny Zhu, Valley Catholic, sr.; T6. Sawyer Quinton, Prairie City, sr.
Notes: Like Lake Oswego's Woolworth, the Oregon State-bound Hartwell is bidding to become a three-time champion, a feat accomplished by only four boys in state history. His stroke average (3.25-under) leads the state for all classifications. … Last year, Quinn beat Hartwell by one stroke in the district meet and Hartwell edged Quinn by one stroke at state. This season, Quinn defeated Hartwell by one stroke March 30 but Hartwell took the district tournament at Tokatee, shooting 6-under 138 to beat Douglas sophomore Wyatt Winters (145), Simonds (146) and Quinn (147). … Bandon, which won the team title by 49 strokes last year, is going for a three-peat.
Girls
6A, OGA Golf Course, Woodburn
District No. 1 teams: Cleveland, Jesuit, McMinnville, Clackamas, Lake Oswego, Sprague, Sheldon
2025 state tournament: Lake Oswego 625, Sunset 627, Jesuit 641, Mountainside 682
Top returning state placers: 1. Melinee Udom, Westview, jr.; 2. Hannah Wendorf, Lakeridge, soph.; 3. Lana Silvestri, Roseburg, soph.; 4. Hailey Lim, Lake Oswego, sr.; 5. Jessi Tantog, Clackamas, jr.
Notes: The heavy-hitting Udom, a Brigham Young commit, beat Wendorf by two strokes last year. Udom enters the tournament with a state-leading average of 2.41-under, ahead of Lim (1.85-under), Cleveland senior Kate Ly (0.99-under) and Wendorf (0.32-under). In seven tournaments this season, Udom has not shot higher than 70. … Udom's cousin, Alexa Udom, won an individual title for Westview in 2019. … Lake Oswego, which held off Sunset by two strokes for the title last year, seeks its third consecutive championship. The Lakers' team average of 39.36-over is second in 6A to Jesuit (38.91-over), which had a streak of four titles before Lake Oswego's reign.
5A, OGA Golf Course, Woodburn
District No. 1 teams: Wilsonville, Eagle Point, Crescent Valley, Summit
2025 state tournament: Wilsonville 654, North Eugene 733, Summit 742, Crescent Valley 781
Top returning state placers: 3. Layla Sidhu, Wilsonville, sr.; 4. Payton Richardson, Redmond, sr.; 7. Dakota Davis, North Eugene, soph.; 8. Sophi Hasselblad, Summit, soph.; 10. Sydney Nelson, North Eugene, jr.
Notes: The individual title appears to be up for grabs now that North Eugene's Francesca Tomp, a four-time champion, has moved on. The leading 5A scorers this season are Bend freshman Taylor Struble (6.84-over), Hasselblad (6.87-over) and Sidhu (8.25-over). Struble and Hasselblad each shot 79 to share medalist honors in the Intermountain Conference district meet at Black Butte Ranch, topping Richardson (82) and Summit sophomore Addison Lair (82). … Struble shot 148 to win the Special District 1 regional tournament by 27 strokes. … Two-time reigning champion Wilsonville will be pushed by Summit and Bend. In the IMC district tournament, Summit (357) beat Bend (375).
4A/3A/2A/1A, Eagle Crest Resort Course, Redmond
Special district No. 1 teams: Scappoose, Catlin Gabel, Salem Academy, North Bend, Henley, Trinity Lutheran
2025 state tournament: Salem Academy 654, St. Mary's (Medford) 684, Scappoose 729, North Bend 730
Top returning state placers: 1. Vishaka Priyan, Catlin Gabel, sr.; 2. Chloe Johnston, Salem Academy, jr..; 3. Ellie Gladow, Salem Academy, jr.; T4. Emma Wheelock, St. Mary's (Medford), jr.; T6. Tygh Timinsky, Dufur, sr.; T6. Olivia Heim, St. Mary's (Medford), soph.
Notes: Priyan, the runner-up in 2024, shot a 4A/3A/2A/1A tournament record 6-under last year to win by 11 strokes over Johnston. In the Banks Invitational on April 1, Priyan, Johnston and Gladow shared first place at 77. … Priyan has the No. 5 scoring average for all classifications this season at 1.48-over, leading Johnston (4.03-over) and Gladow (5.72-over). … Priyan shot 138 to win her district tournament at Arrowhead Golf Club. Johnston (146) beat Gladow (156) in their district tournament at Mallard Creek. … Two-time reigning state champion Salem Academy is the heavy favorite. The Crusaders' scoring average of 37.99-over leads the state for all classifications.
jerryu@osaa.org
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