Paeglow goes with the flow of crazy year, wins Chronicle golfer of year

DeKALB - If there was a mindset made for golf in 2020, DeKalb boys coach Brad Kerkman said Brett Paeglow’s was near perfect.

"He's a pretty laid back kid," Kerkman said of the senior, who averaged a score of 37 per nine holes this year and qualified for the state tournament had it been held this year. "He's pretty go with flow, so that favors kids like him where he doesn't need a ton of structure to be successful. He takes things as they come."

After winning the Class 3A Rockford East Regional, he took 10th at the Auburn sectional, shooting a 77. He was named the Daily Chronicle 2020 Boys Golfer of the Year.

Paeglow said his season exceeded his expectations.

"This summer we weren't even sure we were going to have a season," Paeglow said. "I was just still practicing almost every day in case we did, and we did. It just worked out. It was just difficult having to wear a mask everywhere and not even be sure what we were doing."

Paeglow said he was a little upset about there not being a state tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was softened by having played at the tournament last year.

"I'm a little disappointed there's no state tournament because this is the first year I qualified for it individually," Paeglow said. "But it was still a good year. And we went to state last year as a team so I'm happy I got to experience that at least once in my high school career."

Kerkman said Paeglow had a fantastic year.

"His scores reflected that," Kerkman said. "He had his best of his four years by far. He averaged a 37. That's pretty impressive to say the least. It's unfortunate on state. He really could have made some noise down there. But he won the regional and was 10th in the sectional. Overall it was a successful year from not knowing if we were going to be playing to trying to put together a schedule. I thought he handled it really well and he was definitely a leader for us."

Kerkman said he would see Paeglow at Kishwaukee Country Club over the summer, with the golfer asking him questions about the upcoming season.

Kerkman said he was very motivated, and that led to him firing on all cylinders throughout the year.

And he said Paeglow did a good job off leading with his take it as it comes attitude.

“I think its nice to have a mix of personality on the team,” Kerkman said. “So when you have these kids feeling off that uncertainty, they feed off that energy from Brett and go how he’s feeling. If someone of Brett’s caliber is relaxed and goes with the flow, it feeds off other players as well.”