Holding a slim lead at the Gladiator Invitational on Thursday morning, Woodland Park senior Sam Levy hooked his tee shot far right and into the native area on his third-to-last hole.

It’s the kind of spot Levy would have struggled to overcome a year ago. But this is a far more confident player than then.

His heart didn’t race. His swing didn’t lock.

Levy stayed calm and hit his second shot on the par-4 No. 6 five feet from the pin and tapped in for birdie as he held on to win the Colorado Springs Metro League tournament with a 1-over 73 at Cheyenne Shadows.

The Panthers senior parred the final hole and held off TCA freshman Liam O’Halloran, who took second (74) and is now seven strokes behind Levy in the 4A CSML standings with one league tournament remaining.

“Last year Sam would get more nervous, he’d be breathing hard before the round,” said Panthers assistant coach Jeff Gwinn with Woodland Park’s head coach Brian Gustafson out on business.

“If you were 1-under par like he was (earlier) today he would be feeling it. And today, he has a lot more confidence.”

Woodland Park won its second golf invitational in program history with a team score of 242 and extended its lead in the league standings by 13 strokes over TCA.

The Titans took second at 250.

“It’s not insurmountable but it’d be tough,” TCA coach Bob Gravelle said. “We’re not giving up.”

Levy finished with four birdies and five bogeys. He struggled hitting the fairway but used some nice putting – which included a 25-foot putt to save par early in the round – and a strong approach to wrap up his first win of the season.

“I felt good,” Levy chuckled. “I felt like (the round) could have been a lot better.”

O’Halloran had two birdies and four bogeys. He nearly ended his round with another birdie, and a potential tie of the lead, but his 15-foot chance came to a stop at the edge of the hole.

“I was going for making that putt to see if I could tie Sam, see if Sam could two-putt and I could one-putt,” O’Halloran said. “I hit that putt on the line I wanted to. I thought I had hit it at the right speed but it came up a few inches short.”

The Panthers, who won the first invite in their program’s 17-year history at the Mitchell Invitational a week ago, will look to wrap up the league title at their host invite at Shining Mountain on Tuesday.

Holding a slim lead at the Gladiator Invitational on Thursday morning, Woodland Park senior Sam Levy hooked his tee shot far right and into the native area on his third-to-last hole.

It’s the kind of spot Levy would have struggled to overcome a year ago. But this is a far more confident player than then.

His heart didn’t race. His swing didn’t lock.

Levy stayed calm and hit his second shot on the par-4 No. 6 five feet from the pin and tapped in for birdie as he held on to win the Colorado Springs Metro League tournament with a 1-over 73 at Cheyenne Shadows.

The Panthers senior parred the final hole and held off TCA freshman Liam O’Halloran, who took second (74) and is now seven strokes behind Levy in the 4A CSML standings with one league tournament remaining.

“Last year Sam would get more nervous, he’d be breathing hard before the round,” said Panthers assistant coach Jeff Gwinn with Woodland Park’s head coach Brian Gustafson out on business.

“If you were 1-under par like he was (earlier) today he would be feeling it. And today, he has a lot more confidence.”

Woodland Park won its second golf invitational in program history with a team score of 242 and extended its lead in the league standings by 13 strokes over TCA.

The Titans took second at 250.

“It’s not insurmountable but it’d be tough,” TCA coach Bob Gravelle said. “We’re not giving up.”

Levy finished with four birdies and five bogeys. He struggled hitting the fairway but used some nice putting – which included a 25-foot putt to save par early in the round – and a strong approach to wrap up his first win of the season.

“I felt good,” Levy chuckled. “I felt like (the round) could have been a lot better.”

O’Halloran had two birdies and four bogeys. He nearly ended his round with another birdie, and a potential tie of the lead, but his 15-foot chance came to a stop at the edge of the hole.

“I was going for making that putt to see if I could tie Sam, see if Sam could two-putt and I could one-putt,” O’Halloran said. “I hit that putt on the line I wanted to. I thought I had hit it at the right speed but it came up a few inches short.”

The Panthers, who won the first invite in their program’s 17-year history at the Mitchell Invitational a week ago, will look to wrap up the league title at their host invite at Shining Mountain on Tuesday.