Ramstein's Grayden Taylor putts on the No. 13 green during the final round of the DODEA European golf championships on Oct. 10, 2024, at Woodlawn Golf Course on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – Standing on the patio over the No. 18 green at Woodlawn Golf Course on Thursday, a group of coaches and athletes watched as Ramstein’s Grayden Taylor and Stuttgart’s Tyler Korell duked it out in a playoff.

Taylor needed to sink a 20-foot put to bogey the hole and extend the boys competition at the DODEA European golf championship.

Among that crowd was his coach, Kent Enyeart. And he predicted that not only was Taylor going to sink that putt, but he was going to win the whole thing.

The Royal mentor was correct. Not only did the senior wow the crowd by making that pressure-filled shot, but he also parred the No. 10 hole in the second playoff hole to defeat Korell.

“That putt was incredible,” Enyeart said. “The pressure that he had on him at that point in time, especially with that distance … but there wasn’t a doubt.”

Taylor entered the final round of the tournament with a one-point advantage over Korell, and he had seen that lead balloon to five points after he produced a par on the par-5 No. 11 hole.

That lead evaporated over the final seven holes, however, ending in a total of 38 on the day and 79 overall. He still had a one-point advantage heading into the final hole of regulation, but the transfer from Colorado hit into the woods and scratched the hole, while Korell double-bogeyed to force the tie.

That made his heroics in the extra holes even sweeter.

Stuttgart's Tyler Korell, left, and Ramstein's Grayden Taylor shake hands following their second playoff hole on Oct. 10, 2024, during the final round of the DODEA European golf championships at Woodlawn Golf Course on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein's Tyler Hacker follows his drive off the No. 17 tee on Oct. 10, 2024, during the final round of the DODEA European golf championships at Woodlawn Golf Course on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart's Tyler Korell reacts after missing his putt on the No. 12 hole during the final round of the DODEA European golf championships on Oct. 10, 2024, at Woodlawn Golf Course on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein's David Obermuller chips out of the sand bunker on the No. 6 hole during the final round of the DODEA European golf championships on Oct. 10, 2024, at Woodlawn Golf Course on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

“It’s my first time being an individual champion in anything in high school sports,” Taylor said. “It was a great moment for me.”

His opponent, Korell, won the final round with 39 points, while Taylor’s teammate, Michael Schmiedel, also totaled 38 Thursday and amassed 74 overall to finish in third.

A freshman, Korell said he wasn’t too upset at missing out on the individual European title. Instead, he praised hanging with older competitors in Taylor, Schmiedel and Royal senior Tyler Hacker, who came in fourth with a total of 71 points.

“He was the better player in the end,” Korell said of Taylor. “It was really amazing to be there (in the playoff).”

Still, all anyone could talk about was Taylor’s tournament-saving putt in the first playoff hole. Even Korell said he expected the senior Royal to sink that putt and was happy for him.

The straight-faced Taylor could not hide his excitement when thinking about it.

“I felt for a second what Tiger Woods feels, probably,” he said of making the putt.

On the second playoff hole, Taylor’s tee shot landed just feet away from the pin.

Korell’s meanwhile, landed in the sand trap off the right front of the green. Needing a good shot to get out of trouble, Korell managed it and gave himself a chance at par, which would have been enough to extend the playoff after Taylor missed his birdie.

Yet Korell’s attempt just missed, and Taylor got the individual crown.

“The sand was so wet, it’s really hard,” Korell said of his chip shot. “Some of it was luck; some of it was skill. It was a hard shot.”

In the team race, Ramstein dominated from start to finish.

Eight Royals were in the Top 10, even though only the first four counted toward the team score of 285.

Last year’s champion, Christian McHugh, took fifth with 61 points, 2023 runner-up David Obermuller came in sixth with 58, transfer Micah Rothas was seventh with 57, Jeramiah Ramirez placed eighth with 55 and Ryan Izaguirre came in ninth with 51.

It came as no surprise the Royals nearly doubled the output by second-place Stuttgart (149) and third-place Lakenheath (140).

“We knew we would be strong again, and then with Michael, Grayden and Micah Rothas coming in, too, that was just a blessing,” Enyeart said. “These kids pushed each other every day. They like to harass each other, and every day, it was a competition to see who shot the most points.”

Ramstein's Michael Schmiedel hits out of the woods on the No. 12 hole during the final round of the DODEA European golf championships on Oct. 10, 2024, at Woodlawn Golf Course on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart's Tyler Korell follows his drive on the No. 12 hole during the final round of the DODEA European golf championships on Oct. 10, 2024, at Woodlawn Golf Course on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden's Milo Singleton putts while Ramstein's Jeramiah Ramirez holds the flag on the No. 4 hole during the final round of the DODEA European golf championships on Oct. 10, 2024, at Woodlawn Golf Course on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein's David Obermuller, left, and Micah Rothas chase after an umbrella after the wind carried it away on the No. 6 hole during the final round of the DODEA European golf championships on Oct. 10, 2024, at Woodlawn Golf Course on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

DODEA European Golf Championships

Wednesday-Thursday at Woodlawn Golf Course, Ramstein, Germany

Boys

Ramstein 285, Stuttgart 149, Lakenheath 140, Wiesbaden 131, Hohenfels 99, Naples 80, Spangdahlem 65, Vilseck 36, Rota 8

T1. Grayden Taylor (Ram) 41-38_79; T1. Tyler Korell (Stut) 40-39_79; 3. Michael Schmiedel (Ram) 36-38_74; 4. Tyler Hacker (Ram) 35-36_71; 5. Christian McHugh (Ram) 32-29_61; 6. David Obermuller (Ram) 34-24_58; 7. Micah Rothas (Ram) 30-27_57; 8. Jeramiah Ramirez (Ram) 29-26_55; 9. Ryan Izaguirre (Ram) 30-21_51; 10. Marcus Freeman (Hoh) 26-24_50; 11. Connor Landreth (Hoh) 21-28_49; 12. Milo Singleton (Wies) 24-23_47; 13. Hayden Blackmon (Wies) 19-26_45; 14. Clay Christensen (Lake) 21-21_42; 15. Edmund Gavina (Stut) 16-25_41; 16. Jonah Harvey (Wies) 20-19_39; T17. Christian Schultz (Ram) 18-20_38; T17. Jordan Chacon-Del Bosque (Lake) 18-20_38; 19. Mason Dearing (Spang) 8-29_37; T20. Jacob Hwang (Vil) 18-18_36; T20. David Manus (Nap) 21-15_36; 22. Jackson Shorey (Nap) 15-19_34; T23. Nolan Schmidt (Ram) 16-16_32; T23. Ethan Wright (Lake) 22-10_32; 25. Jack Lutrell (Stut) 15-14_29; T26. Cohen Mendiola (Spang) 14-14_28; T26. Isaac Taylor (Lake) 14-14_28; T26. Talen Francisco (Ram) 19-9_28; 29. Christopher Quintero Aizpurua (Lake) 12-12_24; 30. Ayden Atalay (Lake) 4-15_19; 31. Jacob Arrington (Rota) 6-2_8.