FRONT ROYAL — After posting an 18-hole stroke average of 78 en route to capturing Winchester Star Golfer of the Year honors in 2025, Millbrook senior golfer Tyler Learn hadn’t found much of his high school season to be particularly delightful in 2026.
On Thursday, he decided to let himself savor the joy that can come with being on a golf course. In doing so, he might have set himself up for a special postseason.
One year after sharing the title with an even-par 72, Learn won the 12-school Northwestern District tournament by two strokes on Thursday with a 73 on Shenandoah Valley Golf Club’s Titus Course. Meridian’s Jackson Sharon was second with a 75 in the field of 75 golfers.
Learn was the only local golfer to earn medalist honors for placing in the top six, and he paced Millbrook to the best team score among the district’s five Class 4 schools.
Class 3 schools Fauquier (312), Kettle Run (316) and defending champion Meridian (322) finished first through third, respectively at the tournament that was pushed back two days because of rain. Millbrook shot a four-player score of 327 to place fourth and finish ahead of Class 4 schools Liberty (fifth, 337), Sherando (sixth, 339), Handley (seventh, 343) and James Wood (ninth, 361).
Learn didn’t come into the Northwestern District tournament with a ton of momentum. Learn shot a solid 78 at the Skyline Invitational held on SVGC’s Old Course on Sept. 8. He then shot an 82 at the City-County golf quad at Winchester Country Club two days later. Pioneers coach Tim Deegan said Learn didn’t play in last week’s Bryan Gunter Memorial on the Titus Course in order to rest his back.
From the sound of it, skipping the Gunter also gave Learn’s mind some necessary rest.
“My mentality coming into this was mostly just to have fun,” Learn said. “I’ve had a lot of rough performances this year, and it hasn’t really been fun for me much this year. I’ve been pushing too hard to try and score something that really if I just tried to play my regular game, I’d be shooting a lot better.”
As a result of his mindset, Learn liked how he was playing through nine holes on Thursday. That led to him focusing on putting up a low score for the remainder of his round.
“I liked my overall mental approach to shots — playing it a little bit safer while still attacking the pin and trying to make putts a lot,” Learn said. “A lot of stuff was on for me today. Getting off the tee was kind of rough, but everything else was doing pretty good.”
Deegan said it looked to him like Learn was having more fun on Thursday compared to his recent outings.
“He was focusing on the positives during every shot, which I think is important in this game,” Deegan said. “You can’t get down on yourself too much, and I think he did a great job with that.”
Learn had birdies on holes, 3, 10, 12 and 17. The par-4, 321-yard 10th hole stood out to Learn, because his chip from about 45 yards away left him with a two-foot birdie putt.
“I thought I was going to hit it way too far, then it spun and just lipped out pretty much, so it was pretty cool,” Learn said.
Four putts starting from a distance of 10 feet away on the par-4 15th hole hurt Learn’s round. Deegan noted that the 16th hole didn’t start off any better for him, but Learn recovered exceptionally.
“He had a drive in the woods, and his ball was sitting on three pinecones,” Deegan said. “He put it through some trees in a small window, and dropped it within 10 feet of the hole.
“His mindset was a little more jovial, and that helps you scramble a little bit better when you have that mindset. I’m very proud of him today, outside of the [good] score, to be honest.”
Next up is the Region 4D North sub-region tournament, which will take place on Wednesday at SVGC’s Titus Course. The top two teams and four individuals outside of those teams will advance to the Region 4D tournament on Oct. 6 at Winchester Country Club.
Defending champion Charlottesville (three golfers back from last year’s top six) and Orange County also make up the Region 4D North sub-region. For Millbrook to beat four of its competitors in the tournament prior to the sub-region event is a good step. The Pioneers placed third in last year’s sub-region tournament behind the Black Knights and Handley.
“It’s my senior season, so I’m just trying to have fun with all my friends on the team,” Learn said. “We’re all playing pretty good this season, so we’re just trying to perform well and make it further into [the postseason].”
Deegan felt Millbrook as a team played more relaxed on Thursday than it had during an inconsistent regular season.
“No pressure, go out, have fun, play like you guys know how to play … I just noticed when they’re coming off and when I’m talking to them that they were in better moods, which makes me very happy,” Deegan said. “I can get more out of them and help them more when they’re in a better mood.”
Millbrook had five players shoot 87 or better, with Jude McGee (83), Trenton Conley (85) and Dylan Reich (86) also contributing to the Pioneers’ score. Nate Stubblefield shot the 87.
Conley won last year’s sub-region tournament on the Titus course with a 72 and shot a 73 last week at the Gunter, so the Pioneers figure to have an excellent chance at a region berth if Learn and Conley are both playing their best on Wednesday.
“Trenton has a great season,” Deegan said. “This team has been up and down, but I’m really proud that they keep coming back, and they keep going after that lower score, that better round. The fight is always there. They’re never at the point where they’re giving up.”
Sherando also had five scores of 87 or better, with Daniel Hill (83), Nick Sneddon (84), Cole Prather (86) and Gavin Welsh (86) contributing counting rounds and Jay Sluss firing the 87.
“I felt like today went all right considering the week that we’ve had,” Pearson said. “It was super rainy and it was tough to get out there. We came in kind of cold. We didn’t play our best golf. The guys all kind of said they left some shots out there, so the fact the scores were still as good as they are is encouraging. It’s proof we’re getting better.”
The Warriors won the City-County quad with a 331 and were the top local team at the Gunter (322). Hill has been the leader or co-leader for the team in their last three events, but Prather led Sherando at the Skyline tourney, and Sluss tied Hill at the City-County. The finishing order for the Warriors overall can vary quite a bit.
“The story of our season is our top six is not set, and it’s not set for Wednesday yet,” Pearson said. “We have great competition amongst the team. They’re all really good friends, and they’re also really competitive with each other, and that’s driven the scores lower and lower all season. It’s a good problem to have, to not know who the top six exactly are.”
Handley shot its highest score of the season on Thursday. Scoring for the Judges were Jaxon Pardue (83), Hudson Slaughter (84), Aaron DeChristopher (85) and Jack Pearce-Gonzales (91).
“Jaxon Pardue leads the way in today, and that’s fantastic to see, that senior leadership,” Mezzatesta said. “This is his last hurrah, and to see him leading the team as he’s done down the stretch is pretty cool.”
Mezzatesta also said the rain made this week difficult — in addition to wiping out Tuesday, Handley and Millbrook were scheduled to play in a tournament in Harrisonburg on Monday that was canceled by rain. The Judges practiced on Wednesday in a drizzle.
“I’m hoping we just came out flat,” Mezzatesta said. “We’ve got to answer the bell [on Wednesday]. You got knocked down hard. Now you’ve got to get back up and be ready to go next week.”
James Wood junior Tucker Campbell had the second-best score among local golfers with an 82. Campbell felt better chipping on his back nine would have helped his score on Thursday.
Campbell’s season includes team-leading scores of 77 at the Skyline Invitational and 86 at the City-County quad and Gunter tournaments.
“The season’s gone pretty good,” Campbell said. “I’ve been shooting pretty good in the tournaments. I’ve been getting better as the season goes on. I think being able to control my long irons has improved, and putting.”
Other scoring golfers for the Colonels were Drew Longo (83), Abram Nail (94) and David Terry (102).
First-year James Wood head coach Vitoria Whitehurst said she’s proud of how her players have progressed this season.
“I’ve been very impressed by a lot of players,” Whitehurst said. “We have a couple that have freshly started playing, and they come out here and put in the work even when we don’t have practice or tournaments.”
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
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