Jordan Barker wasn’t the only player to double-bogey the first hole Wednesday at the District 11 Golf Championship.

Sixteen of the 33 players in the boys Class 3A field took a six or higher on the par-4 first hole at the Steel Club in Hellertown, but only one of them rebounded to finish in the top-10.

Barker, a Liberty High School senior, didn’t just recover from the tough start, he battled back to overtake his brother for first place and win this year’s District 11 boys Class 3A title.

“It’s kind of surreal because back in summer we didn’t have Jordan,” said Liberty head coach Steve Bradley. “He was in Florida. We got him here. He made the decision and he came back. It was really neat for Jordan to play with his cousin, his brother, the Vitals. They’ve grown up playing together their whole lives.”

Barker made five birdies and two bogeys over 17 holes to finish at 1-under par 71. His brother Jase, a Liberty freshman, was leading the tournament at 2-under par after playing the front nine in 34 with two birdies and seven pars. Bogeys on 10 and 12 dropped him to even par, but he was still leading until Jordan came storming back with a 2-under par 34 on the back nine.

Jordan Barker birdied the 14th to tie his brother and birdied 16 to take the lead. He parred the last two to seal the win.

“I hit a lot of greens today,” Jordan Barker said. “I hit it close enough to make a couple putts, but also didn’t make any mistakes.”

Jase Barker finished at even-par 72, three shots clear of Nazareth’s Chase Skrapits in third place.

“It was really cool,” said Jase Barker. “I knew he was one-under, or right around me the whole time.”

The Barkers were two of the seven Bethlehem-area players in the top-10.

Liberty cruised to the team title, posting four-man score of 298 to beat Stroudsburg (351), Blue Mountain (355) and Lehighton (370).

The Hurricanes’ Jimmy Barker, a cousin of Jordan and Jase, finished sixth with a 77. Matt Vital tied for seventh with a 78 and Michael Vital was 10th with a 79.

Freedom’s Jake Haberstumpf finished fourth at 76. His top-five finish means he joins the Barker brothers at next week’s state championship tournament at Heritage Hills Resort in York.

Three of the five state qualifiers from District 11 Class 3A boys this year are Bethlehem Area School District athletes.

Haberstumpf made six bogeys and a pair of birdies to finish at 4-over par. He played the final five holes at one under par to remain in the top five places and earn the trip to states.

Freedom’s Matt Ronca also made the top-10, shooting 78 to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place.

While the Barkers enjoyed winning the district medal, they were more pleased to hoist the team trophy. One of the major reasons Jordan returned from Florida was to play on the team with his brother and other friends he has golfed with for years at Northampton County Club.

“That’s the whole reason I played today, just wanted to get the team there,” said Jordan Barker. “Usually it’s just a one-man type deal in other tournaments. This you have a whole team with you. These aren’t just my teammates, these are all my buddies.”

Jase also returned from Florida to play on the team and plans to remain at Liberty for the next three years. Jordan plans to play in college, like their older brother JT, a Bethlehem Catholic graduate who is on the team at Florida Gulf Coast University.

“We were talking about it for years,” said Jase. “Me, Michael (Vital), Matthew (Vital), our cousin Jimmy would all be in high school for one year together.”

The Hurricanes went 10-0 this season with a lineup that included six players who all qualified for districts individually. Ryan Evans finished tied for 19th with an 87 last Wednesday.

“There’s not a lot of separation” said Bradley. “We had four different number-ones this year. They compete with each other, but they joke about it and they tease each other. They’re down to earth kids and I think that contributes to their success.

“Nothing phases any of them. They’re really calm, cool, collected. They’re fun to watch. They’re the most fun group of kids you could ever ask to coach, down to earth.”

Liberty plays in a state subregional match this week to try and make next week’s state team tournament at Heritage Hills. They’ll face a team from District 1 or 12 in this week’s match.

Northampton’s Madison Salter earned a district medal with a fourth-place finish in the girls Class 3A tournament. She shot 88 and was two strokes away from third place and the top three finish needed to qualify for the state championship.

Emmaus’ Evelyn Wong won the girls 3A title. She tied Hornet Michelle Cox at 76 then won the title with a par on the first hole of a playoff.

Whitehall’s Kristine Landis took 10th place in the girls Class 3A tournament with a 106.

Ben Ortwein of Notre Dame (Green Pond) won the boys Class 2 title with a 75, one stroke better than Nathan Meyers (Central Catholic) in second place. Palmerton won the boys 2A team title.

Moravian Academy’s Grace Sanborn cruised to victory in the girls Class 2A tournament. Sanborn shot 76, which was 28 strokes clear of the second-place finisher, Brooke Powis of North Schuylkill.

District 11 Golf Championship

Played at par 72 Steel Club

Class 3A Boys

(Top 5 qualify for state championship)

1. Jordan Barker (Liberty) 71, 2. Jase Barker (Liberty) 72, 3. Chase Skrapits (Nazareth) 74, 4. (tie) Jake Haberstumpf (Freedom), Matt Zerfass (Emmaus) 76, 5, 6. Jimmy Barker (Liberty) 77, 7. (tie) Jack Lorenz (Lehighton), Matt Ronca (Freedom), Matt Vital (Liberty) 78, 10. Michael Vital (Liberty) 79, T19. Ryan Evans (Liberty), James Kelly (Parkland) 87, T22. Collin Wong (Emmaus) 89.

Class 3A Girls

(Top 3 qualify for state championship)

1. Evenyn Wong (Emmaus) 76*, 2. Michelle Cox 76, 3. Emma Shelby (Saucon Valley) 86, 4. Madison Salter (Northampton) 88, 5. Danielle Crenshaw (Parkland) 94, Sydni Sundstrom (Parkland) 100, 11. Kristine Landis (Whitehall) 106.

* - won on first hole of playoff

Class 2A Boys

(Top 3 qualify for state championship)

1. Ben Ortwein (Notre Dame Green Pond) 75, 2. Nathan Meyers (Central Catholic) 76, Joe Smith (Moravian Academy) 79, 4. (tie) Tyler Hager (Palmerton), Charlie Long (Central Catholic) 81, 6. Derek Rae (Palmerton) 83, 7. (tie) Connor Reinhard (Palmerton), Josh Suto (Palmerton) 84, 9. Evan Eichenlaub (Moravian Academy) 85, 10. Jeffrey Markosky (North Schuylkill) 86.

Class 2A Girls

(Top 2 qualify for state championship)

1. Grace Sanborn (Moravian Academy) 76, 2. Brooke Powis (North Schuylkill) 104, 3. Layna Warner (Nativity) 121, 4. Maddie Von Frisch (Weatherly) 128.