Phoenix Country Day led Pusch Ridge by five strokes after the first round last year but the Lions scratched back and pulled out a one-stroke victory to capture the first team championship in program history and memories of that second round tourn around became part of the background and motivation for the head coach Ben Sullivan and his Eagles this year at the Aguila Golf Course in Laveen.

This year, the Eagles had a slim 294-292 lead over Pusch Ridge after Monday but the team didn’t slip this time, in fact, just the opposite. Phoenix Country Day put together an incredible round on Tuesday where the top golfers trimmed 22 shots off par to finish the tournament with a 16-under 560 (294-266) to beat Pusch Ridge (292-289: 581) by 21 strokes to win the first team championship in program history.

Pusch Ridge. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

Also, Phoenix Country Day standout freshman Sam Meltzer beat Pusch Ridge sophomore Mark Stypa by two strokes last year to win the Division III individual medal. This year, now a junior, Stypa beat Phoenix Country Day senior Brady Sheridan by one stroke to win the 2026 individual championship.

Stypa (67-67: 134) played consistent golf until the 14th hole on Tuesday where a double bogey opened the door for Sheridan (72-63: 135). Sheridan shot a birdie on 15, 17 and 18 in what looked to be a tie for a playoff but Stypa’s mark on his 17th hole came in and the crowd could see that a birdie there gave Stypa one-stroke advantage as his foursome was walking over the final hill on the18th. Stypa, however, was not aware that Sharidan made one final push down the stretch.

Stypa’s second shot landed about six feet from the hole and he just missed out on a birdie of his own by a few inches on his first putt. His second putt clinched the one-stroke victory. The top 12 finishers all shot under par with nine strokes separating the group. Eliza Meltzer (69-71: 140) took sixth and Sam Meltzer (78-64: 142) tied for ninth to give the Eagles three medalists.

The medalists. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)