It wasn’t long after Ben Britton had joined the Lebanon High School golf team four years ago before he had earned himself a nickname: The Franchise.

A self-described “pretty small” freshman with a quality short game, Britton’s talent was evident early. His elder teammates forecasted Britton’s rise to the top of the Raiders’ pecking order as the program’s leader and best golfer. They were right.

Britton, who placed third as a junior at the NHIAA Division III individual tournament in 2023, once again found himself in contention in the two-round tournament in mid-October.

The Lebanon senior carded a 15-over 87 in the first round of play at Rochester Country Club to make the cut for the second round at Beaver Meadow Golf Club.

Britton was one of two Upper Valley golfers, joining Stevens’ Owen Wilkinson, to advance to the D-III individual championship as the field was whittled down to 13.

Britton said he had felt nervous entering the D-III team championship — which is just a one-round affair, in contrast to the two rounds used to decide the individual champion — and the added pressure got to him.

He reset ahead of the second round, figuring that if he collected himself and kept his cool, a comeback was well within reason.

“I wasn’t paired with the leaders, so I had no idea how they were doing, really,” said Britton, who helped secure a fourth-place finish for Lebanon at the team tournament. “That sort of kept me in my own space. I wasn’t thinking about how they were doing. I was just thinking about how I was doing — avoiding the big numbers, making a couple birdies here or there, which I did, and basically keeping the ball in play.”

The hole-by-hole focus coalesced with a little bit of freedom for Britton, too. He could afford to play a little more aggressively. He could take a few more risks on the course he would normally attempt to avoid, allowing him to make up ground with the leaders.

The strategy worked.

Britton, who entered the second round six strokes behind the leaders, including Wilkinson, used an impressive display on the front nine to put himself back in contention.

Britton birdied two holes and parred two others as he carded a 3-over 39 on the front nine.

After opening the back nine with a double bogey on the 10th hole, doomed by a shank and a shot into a bunker, Britton’s coach, Steve Roberts, delivered a simple message.

“He said, ‘You know what? I shank it,’” Britton said, recounting the interaction. “‘Every once in a while, everyone has a bad shot like that. You know, you’re a good player. Put a good swing on the next shot.’ So that’s what I did.”

Britton parred four of the next eight holes, finishing the back nine with a 6-over 42.

His 9-over 81 finish was the lowest score on the day, three fewer strokes than the day’s second-best golfer, Alex Myslinski of Coe-Brown Northwood.

It was also good enough to draw him into a tie for first place with Bishop Brady’s Aiden Boule at 24-over par after 36 holes.

Roberts said Britton, who is about as consistent as they come — the highs or lows never too extreme — benefited from not “having anything to lose.”

But with the tournament headed to a playoff hole to decide the individual champion, Britton approached Roberts and expressed some initial anxiety. But those nerves quickly dissipated once the playoff got underway.

“Once it actually happened, I was like, ‘Well, this is kind of fun, actually. I have a chance to win it in a dramatic fashion. And it’s really a true representation of who’s the best, one hole just to decide it,’” Britton said. “So I thought that was pretty awesome.”

Britton ultimately lost to to Boule on the first hole of playoff when his six-foot par putt went just wide of the cup.

“I was hoping to win it all,” said Britton, who was named first team all-state in D-III. “That would have meant a lot to me, but it didn’t work out in the end. But that’s all right, I’m still pretty proud of second place (this year) and third place last year, especially being down six shots going into Saturday. I felt pretty proud that I was able to even come back and have a chance to win it.”

Britton’s second-place finish earned him a spot in last month’s 2024 New England boys golf championship, where he shot an 87 at Mohegan Sun Country Club in Connecticut.

Other Upper Valley golf programs

Stevens finished in seventh-place at the D-III team championship, carding a 90-over 378. Coach Ryan Seaver’s squad boasted two all-state players in Wilkinson (first team) and senior Aubree Herzog (second team).

“We had a great season,” Seaver said. “Definitely overcame some poor play earlier in the season that had us sitting at 10-8, but finished on a high note going 10-2 the rest of the season to get into the playoffs as the sixth seed.

“We had a tough first nine holes at Rochester. We just had a tough time getting going, but I’m incredibly proud of these kids. It’s been a great season and I’m sad to see our four seniors graduate: Herzog, Ian Gersberg, Justin Demars and Josh Petrin.”

Hanover, which finished runner-up to Concord in D-I last season, had two players — junior Andrew Cramer and sophomore Benjamin Ames — compete as individuals at the tournament this season. Neither made the cut to the second round of play, with Ames carding a 14-over 86 and Cramer shooting a 15-over 87.

Newport also sent two players, sophomore Carter White and eighth grader Zachary Meyette, to compete as individuals at Keene Country Club in the D-IV tournament, but neither made the cut.

Alex Cervantes can be reached at acervantes@vnews.com or 603-727-7302.