Thursday was the last day of competition for USA Games golf, and it was also the best day of the week for many Level 5 golfers. The wind was less of a factor than it was on Wednesday, making it easier for golfers to play to the best of their abilities. On Monday and Wednesday, only Scott Rohrer had finished a round with a sub-80 score. On Thursday, Rohrer shot a 74 for his third straight sub-80 score, and five golfers joined him in that club:

• Zachary Duncan (74, +3)
• Brett Geiger (75, +4)
• Garrett Stortz (76, +5)
• Wake Mullins (76, +5)
• Zachary Lewis (78, +7)

Rohrer teed off with two of those golfers, Geiger and Stortz, who were the midst of a tight battle for Division 2 gold. I followed Rohrer’s tee group for much of the day on Thursday. Watch the video below for the full story of their round:

As shown in the video, Geiger and Stortz played some of their best golf of the week after teeing off with Rohrer. As for Rohrer himself, his dominant week on the course continued.

The highlight of Rohrer’s final round came down the stretch, when he finished his round with three straight birdies and three big booms. You can watch the “Rohr-ing Boom Finish” below:

After 54 holes, Rohrer finished the week just 5 strokes over par. His score not only won him the Division 1 gold medal but also tied the all-time 54-hole USA Games record, which Rohrer set in 2010. Rohrer’s USA Games career truly came full circle, as his first gold medal came during that 2010 tournament. After tying his own record and winning one last gold, Rohrer has announced that this USA Games will be his last. It caps off an amazing career for Rohrer during which he won four of the last five Division 1 golds (only interrupted by Tyler Lagasse, who won in 2022 when Rohrer did not participate). I had the chance to speak with both Rohrer and Garrett Stortz in the interview below:

Stortz’s week-long score of 247 (+34) won him the Division 2 silver medal. However, it was Geiger that came away with the division’s gold, finishing six strokes ahead of Stortz with a score of 241 (+28). See my interview with Geiger in the video below:

In Division 3, Zachary Duncan of North Carolina and Wake Mullins of Kentucky also benefitted from their sub-80 scores, as Duncan won gold and Mullins won silver. Peyton Mattingly of Texas was also in Division 3 at his first ever USA Games. While he did not come home with a medal, he did accomplish many of his goals for his first time on the national stage. He had set out to shoot a sub-90 round, which he achieved on Wednesday with a score of 89. In addition, his trademark “fairway-finder” shot helped him land every single fairway in both Wednesday and Thursday’s rounds. Below is my interview with Mattingly after his Thursday round:

STARS of the Spectrum golfer Daniel Steele was also in Division 3, where he finished the week with a score of 294. While some holes were a struggle for Steele, he was happy with how his week turned out, and built bonds right away with some of the new golfers he met such as Stortz and Mattingly. Watch my interview with Steele below:

As mentioned in the interview, Steele was there the entire week with another STARS of the Spectrum golfer, Vince Egan, who made his debut as a USA Games golf official. I ran into Egan several times out on the course, and he was very helpful in keeping me up to date on all the latest information about tee times and divisions for the Level 5 competition. As the commissioner of the STARS of the Spectrum Golf League, I appreciate Egan for providing the same transparency that I strive to provide to him, Steele, and other STARS golfers. Here’s the three of us after the first round of action on Monday:

As for the final results, below is an overview of everyone who medaled in Level 5 golf. While BostonSportsMania.com did not receive Day 3 scores for the Division 4 golfers, Tyler Tolleson of Kansas came away with the gold medal in that division as shown below:

This week was a chance for me to reconnect with old friends like Scott Rohrer, see STARS golfers like Daniel Steele and Vince Egan in action, and meet so many new golfers who impressed many both on and off the golf course. I’d also also like to thank everyone who helped support my coverage, including Egan, Colorado coach Lori Graham, South Carolina coach Wendy Waddle, Daniel Steele’s mom Nadja Rivera, and Peyton Mattingly’s mom Amber. I am proud to have covered my third straight USA Games Level 5 golf tournament, and I look forward to seeing what every one of these golfers do next.