The Hamilton and Brophy Prep saga continued during first-round action at the AIA Division I state championship held at the OMNI Tucson National Sonoran Course on Wednesday. The Broncos lead the field with a 3-under par 277, six strokes ahead of the Huskies heading into day two slated for Thursday. Pinnacle is in third place with a 285.

The championship history between the two schools dates back to around 2005 but the more recent history is reminiscent of a heavyweight boxing match. Brophy Prep has eight championships and Hamilton has seven but Brophy beat Hamilton 567 to 575 to win it all in 2018 and then Hamilton took care of Brophy 571 to 574 last fall and it’s no surprise the two power teams are at it again this year.

Hamilton beat Brophy 574 to 586 at the Antigua Invitational in early September but Brophy beat Hamilton 554 to 559 at the Duke Open 12 days ago. Hamilton came into the state final as the top-ranked team in the state and Brophy came in right behind at No. 2. It should all be decided by Thursday night, or maybe not.

In individual competition, defending state champion Johnny Walker of Hamilton shot a 1-under 70 to finish the day in seventh place but O’Connor senior Max Lyons shot a 6-under 64 to lead the field with Charlie Palmer of Brophy holding second with a 65 and Hamilton’s Mahanth Chirravuri is next with 66. In all, there are 15 golfers within six strokes of the lead.

The parings for the second round will be interesting especially down the stretch and the boys might be in for a playoff hole or two.

NOTE: Mesa junior Caden Clifford shot a hole-in-one on the par-3 10th hole to end his round. He was part of the group that started the day on the 11th. He came in with a 16-over 86 for the day.

(Caden Clifford/Dean Visser Photo/AZPreps365)

LINK: FREE DAY ONE PHOTOS