Cumberland High School senior Chase Grubbs shined on a rainy day Wednesday at Piankatank River Golf Club in Hartfield, winning the individual title in the Conference 42 golf tournament for the second year in a row and qualifying again for regional play.

“It feels good,” he said. “I felt like that’s what I should have done, so I’m happy having done it.”

For an 18-hole round, he shot a two-over-par 74.

Grubbs described conditions as wet, clearly affecting the course.

Because of the circumstances, “I wasn’t going to complain too much about a 74,” he said.

For the first half of the tournament, Grubbs battled for the lead with one of the golfers from Middlesex High School. But Grubbs got a bit of an edge on No. 10 and said the turning point in the tourney was No. 11, where he got his lone birdie of the day and his rival only made par.

“I knew I was going to win when I got a three on a par-3, and he got a six,” Grubbs said, referring to No. 14.

Cumberland Head Coach Monroe Preston said he thought Grubbs did very well in the inclement weather, and  praised his No. 1 player’s strategic approach.

“He gave up distance for accuracy and fairways,” Preston said.

Rather than making regular use of his driver when teeing off, Grubbs used an iron almost every time.

“He putted well,” Preston said. “He made a lot of par-saving putts.”

Grubbs had only three bogeys on the day.

As a team, Cumberland shot a 432 to place third out of four squads competing in the tournament. Middlesex won with a team score of 351, Central Lunenburg High School took second with a 378 and Mathews High School placed fourth with a 450.

Preston was hoping for a better showing from the Dukes in the tournament and for the season overall.

“I think there’s still a lot of potential there that they didn’t reach as a team,” he said. “I had thought they could get down to 200 or under 200.”

Cumberland’s best score of the season was 203.

Nevertheless, the Dukes may have representation from as many as three golfers in the regional tournament.

Senior Dustin Clark and sophomore Tyler Kingsley were pending qualifiers. For them to make the cut, Preston must determine if their scores during the season averaged better than 100 per 18 holes.

The Region 1A East tournament will be held Oct. 3 at London Downs Golf Club in Forest.