Ottawa’s wait is over: Golf team wins school’s first state title

NORMAL – Ottawa High School’s wait for state title glory is over.

At long last, the Pirates captured an IHSA state team sports championship, the boys golf team accomplishing the feat in the 2A state final at Illinois State’s Weibring Golf Course.

With a 36-hole total of 41-over-par 609 on a summery day, the Pirates scored a seven-stroke victory over the Benton Rangers. Burlington Central, at 52-over 620, took third place, the Rockets’ first trophy in golf.

Proof that youth golf is next to impossible to handicap: The Pirates were led by their fifth man, junior Jacob Armstrong, whose rounds of 72 and 77 for 6-over 149 not only brought him a tie for ninth in the individual competition, but paced the Pirates by three strokes over senior Chandler Creedon.

Armstrong explained that a positive mental attitude was the key to his score.

“My driver held up, and I made some putts,” Armstrong said. “But the whole year, I’d really struggled mentally. I’m usually a mad golfer. I’ve worked really hard to not be a mad golfer. I was about as positive as I could have been this tournament, and it worked.

“You’ve just got to realize you play golf because it’s fun, so go have fun. If you get stuck on the bad shots, you’ll hit more bad shots. It’s like a domino effect.”

This time, the dominos – and the putts – fell happily for Armstrong, and for his colleagues. The steady play of Armstrong, Creedon and Bryer Harris, playing in the No. 1 slot, earned them the trophy. Armstrong made pars on the last five holes, while Creedon and Harris each parred the last four.

“I pin the finish on my ability to handle myself,” Armstrong said. “I wasn’t playing great early. I still wasn’t hitting it the greatest, but I made putts.”

Creedon matched Armstrong’s 77, while Harris scored 78 on Saturday. Colt Bryson’s 79 was the fourth counting score.

Pirates coach Keith Budzowski, in his ninth year, was thrilled more for his players than for himself.

“It’s huge for Ottawa High School, the community and the kids,” Budzowski said. “First state championship, that’s a little extra icing on the cake. These kids work so hard. They spent so much time during the offseason working on their game. To be able to show up and do it on these two days, there’s just a lot of pressure. It shows the depth of our team.

“It’s crazy to think I’m part of it.”

Creedon, who is graduating early, goes out on a high.

“It means everything,” Creedon said. “It’s been a struggle, but it finally paid off. I think we deserve it the best of anybody here.”

As for winning a state team championship, Creedon said, “It’s gonna be huge. … Man, I don’t even know what to say.”

Burlington Central was almost as much a surprise to take third as Ottawa was to win it all. The Rockets were paced by junior Tyler Samaan, who chopped 10 strokes off his Friday 80 with a closing 1-under 70, a round featuring four birdies. The aggregate of 8-over 150 tied him for 11th.

“We won conference for the first time, then sectional, now this,” Samaan said. “It’s pretty cool. We were hoping for first place, but you can’t always get that.

“It’s just a starting point for me. I can build off this for the rest of the year, some IJGA and AJGA tournaments.”

Lemont was ever-so-briefly in trophy position early on Saturday, then faded to eighth despite the hard work of junior Joey Scott, whose 72-75 for 5-over 147 landed him in a tie for seventh. He was 1-over until a triple-bogey on the par-3 17th and a bogey at the last.

“I’m happy with how I played and how the team played,” Scott said. “The best part of the week was just hanging with the team.”

Nazareth took seventh place after sitting second after the first round. The Roadrunners were led Saturday by junior Gray Musker, who scored 8-over 79 and managed only one birdie. Their four scoring players averaged 82 in the closing round.

Regan Konen of Marmion won a three-man sudden-death playoff on the second extra hole to capture the individual title, repeating as Class 2A state champion. Konen and Wheaton Academy teammates Ben Patel and Own Coniaris had tied at 2-under 140.

But Ottawa was the story. After back-to-back heartbreaks in sectional play, including missing a state berth by a stroke last year, the Pirates not only made the final weekend but owned it.

“We came up here and were all confident,” Armstrong said. “Coming in here, we really felt like a team. It was a lot of fun coming into this.”

And so much fun for 36 holes, the school suddenly needs a new trophy case.