Justin Vincent might not have put up any huge low numbers at the 72nd annual Alabama Boys State Junior Championship, but he was the model of consistency, which got him a top-30 finish in a field of nearly 160 golfers.

After playing each of his first two rounds at even par, Vincent once again carded a consistent round, and finished his round and tournament at a 1-under 215, good enough for 29th place in the 14-18 age group, which consisted of 158 golfers at the beginning of the week.

The tournament was won by Padraic Sim of Spanish Fort, who shot a final-round 64 to finish the tournament at 14-under 202, winning by two strokes.

“Today, I played the par-5s better than I did the rest of the week,” Vincent said. “I birdied all of them today and hit one to within six feet for an eagle but lipped out the eagle putt.”

Both Vincent, a rising senior at Athens High, and Matt Smith, a rising senior at Clements High, easily made the cut after two rounds, which was two over par, but while Vincent continued his steady play, Smith slipped back to a total of 1-over 217 after carding a 5-over-par 77 on Thursday, good enough for 40th place.

“I just couldn’t get the putter going today,” Smith said. “I had a couple of three-putts that I shouldn’t have had.”

Putting was also Vincent’s problem, he said. His ball-striking was great, but while he was hitting his fairway shots on to the green, he couldn’t get his birdie putts to drop during the three rounds.

“I gave myself plenty of opportunities to make putts, but unfortunately I couldn’t get any of them to drop,” Vincent said. “The putter is usually the best club in my bag, but it just wasn’t there this week. I hit some good putts and got some bad breaks, but that’s golf. It happens.”

Vincent’s final round consisted of four birdies (all of the par-5 holes), three bogeys and 12 pars. Smith’s round got off to a bad start, as he found himself five over par after nine holes, but he recovered to play the final nine holes at even par, including a birdie on the 18th hole.

Despite his final round, Smith said he had a lot of fun and gained a lot of experience playing in the tournament, especially after missing the cut at the tournament last year.

“It was a really fun tournament,” Smith said. “I enjoyed playing in it. I was pleased with making the cut this year and getting to the final round.”

Vincent said he also enjoyed his experience, and was pleased to be able to finish his tournament under par.

“I really wanted to post a low number today, even if it was just one under par,” he said. “Red numbers (numbers under par) say a lot and I really wanted to put up a red number. This was my best finish ever in a state event and really gives me great confidence.”