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Ben Moore painted an exquisite picture Tuesday in the final round of the Class 3A state golf tournament.

The inward nine of Pinehurst Country Club’s Maxwell Course was his canvas.

Moore, who started the day tied with teammate Ethan Freeman, trailed the two-time defending champion by two shots after 28 holes, but rallied to birdie three of the final four holes to shoot a two-day total of even-par 140 and win by three shots.

“I pretty much knew where I was the whole day, and I wanted to know,” said Moore, who will play at Emory University in Atlanta. “I knew at 10 I was down by two or three and needed to make some birdies.”

The 1-2 finish for the Sun Devils helped them win their seventh straight team title — two in 4A and every one in 3A since it was created in 2008.

Kent finished 27 shots ahead of Holy Family, who improved 20 shots from the first day to the second to jump into the runner-up spot.

The big holes of the day proved to be Nos. 15 and 16.

Freeman, who was playing a group in front of Moore, had already been bitten by the 3-putt bug on No. 13 and had them attack again on the par-4 15th and again on the par-5 16th.

“You can’t put it past the pin here, you are just dead if you do,” said Freeman, who was bidding to become Colorado’s first three-time champion. “Almost all day, I hit it past the pin. It happens.”

While Freeman was making bogeys, Moore capitalized by making birdies, causing a two-shot swing in his favor each time.

The turning point for Moore may have been on No. 11. After the bogey on No. 10, Moore somehow made birdie from behind a tree that was the jolt of momentum that turned his round around.

“I was 3-over and I needed to make something happen,” he said. I made the long putt there and that was a big moment for me.”

Moore capped the day by rolling in a 7-foot birdie putt in front of the gallery gathered on No. 18.

Freeman, bound for the University of Colorado, was humble in defeat.

“If there is one kid I’m fine with beating me, it’s Ben,” Freeman said. “He deserved it.”

Faith Christian’s Jack Cummings finished third and the Estes Park twosome of Brian Coleman and Dylan Jirsa finished tied for fourth.

Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354, jyunt@denverpost.com or

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