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the new lenox patriot | October 10, 2019 | 41
Boys Golf
8
Curran wins second straight SWSC Red title, leads Knights to crown
STEVE MILLAR, Sports Editor
After a summer spent
playing in some of the
country’s top amateur
tournaments, Lincoln-Way
Central junior Sean Curran
knows what it feels like to
hit the course for a major
event.
Curran gets that same
feeling when the high
school postseason starts.
This is the stretch of the
year he most looks forward
to.
“I like the postseason a
lot,” Curran said. “Conference
is always a nice
warmup for regionals.”
Curran, the 2018 Class
3A state runner-up, got his
2019 postseason off to a
strong start as he ran away
with the SouthWest Suburban
Red individual title on
Oct. 1 at Balmoral Woods
in Crete.
Curran, a Clemson recruit,
fired a one-under 71
to finish five shots ahead
of teammate Nick Tingley
and Lincoln-Way West’s
Zack Phelps.
The Knights won the
team title with a 307, edging
Lincoln-Way West
(313). The two New Lenox
schools were far ahead of
the rest of field: Andrew
(366), Stagg (371) and
Bradley-Bourbonnais
(372).
“It was fun to win and
have the team win, too,”
Curran said. “Hopefully
we can keep it rolling into
regionals as a team. We’re
excited. It was good to get
on this course and get a
feel for it. If we put up a
score like this, we should
be good at regionals.”
It’s the fourth conference
title in five years for the
Knights, after the Warriors
won the crown last year.
Central teammates
Juney Bai and T.J. Edmier
tied for seventh, both
shooting 80, to round out
the Knights’ scorers.
Curran said the key for
him was limiting mistakes.
I don’t think I did anything
great,” he said. “I
played the par fives well,
I think I was three under
on those. Just a couple
bad shots – four-putted 13,
went out of bounds on one.
But other than that, it was
just solid.
“I feel prepared. I need
to continue to get better.
The weather will probably
be changing soon so I need
to get ready for that and
move forward.”
The Knights and Warriors
were both set to compete
in the Class 3A Homewood-Flossmoor
Regional
on Monday, Oct. 7, back at
Balmoral Woods.
Tingley’s strong showing
at the conference tournament
gave him a boost
headed into regionals.
“I was pretty happy,” he
said. “Any time you can
step up for your team in
these scenarios at the end
of the year, that’s big.
“I just played pretty
smart, kept it in play. That’s
all you have to do when
you get to the postseason,
play smart and keep battling.
A few birdies helped.
You just have to stay away
from big numbers. That’s
always the key.”
The Knights are hoping
for a big postseason after
they fell two shots shy of
advancing to sectionals
last year.
“We’re pretty excited,”
Tingley said. “This is a
special group and we’re all
confident in each other’s
abilities. If we can put up a
number and just keep moving
on, that’s the goal.”
That’s also the goal for
West, which got consistent
scores across its lineup as
Jason Lange, Aidan Healy
and Ethan Healy all tied
for fourth at 79.
The Warriors won a
regional title last year.
Phelps is looking to lead
the way this postseason.
“I thought I played
pretty decent [at the conference
tournament], but
toward the end I started
falling off a bit,” he said.
“You just have to keep focused
the whole way.
“I played my irons well
and my putting was good.
My chipping was a little
off, but that’s part of the
game.”
Boys Golf
Providence tunes up for regionals with solid Catholic League showing
RANDY WHALEN
Freelance Repoter
The Providence boys
golf team has not won the
Chicago Catholic League
championship since 2014.
The Celtics didn’t win
it this season either. But
that’s OK, they have bigger
things to look forward
to in the next two weeks.
Sophomore Drew
Brasky shot a four-over
76 and tied for eighth with
three other individuals to
receive All-Conference
honors for the Celtics.
Junior teammate Davis
Billows finished a stroke
behind and Providence
placed sixth overall with
a score of 320 Oct. 2 on
Course No. 3 at Cog Hill
Country Club in Lemont.
“You can shoot the best
round of your life at conference
and all you would
get is a pat on the back,”
Providence coach John
Platt said. “But if you do
that in the regional or the
sectional, that’s where you
move on.”
Loyola won the conference
title with a 288. The
Ramblers had the top two
individuals in junior Patrick
Adler (70) and senior
Sam Maylee (71) and had
five All-Conference performers.
The CCL title for the
Ramblers was their seventh
since the league reinstated
the tourney in 2009.
Providence has won three
(2009, 2011, 2014) and
Fenwick (2017) one in that
time.
This season, Fenwick
(302) was second, followed
by St. Ignatius
(307), Marmion (313),
Brother Rice (317) and
Providence (320). St. Rita
(337), Mount Carmel
(344), Montini (346), St.
Laurence (361), and De La
Salle (422) completed the
field.
“For the first five holes
the rain was coming
down,” Platt said. “Then
the last few holes we had
a mist again. Plus on [par
4] hole 18, the four carded
scores that count were a
combined five-over on that
hole. Our last few tournaments
we had been playing
better, but if we would
have had guys par the last
hole it would have taken
off four to eight strokes.
“We should advance out
of [the Class 2A Lemont
regional on Monday, Oct.
7 at Cog Hill Course No.
1], but it’s the sectional
Lincoln-Way Central’s boys golf team celebrates with
its SouthWest Suburban Red championship trophy and
banner on Oct. 1 at Balmoral Woods. STEVE MILLAR/22ND
CENTURY MEDIA
that will be tough. That’s
hosted by Hinsdale South
[on Monday, Oct. 14] at
Prairie Bluff Public Golf
Course [in Lockport] and
there’s six or seven teams
that have a chance to advance
out of there.”
Senior Ryan Hilty shot
an 83 for the Celtics, while
junior Michael Blake and
senior Trevor Vandenberg
both fired 84.
“The last hole was playing
hard today,” Brasky
said. “Plus it was rough
[with the rain] in the beginning
but it got a little
better. I made three or four
birdies but I also missed
6
some others. I hit the ball
bad but scrambled for a 76.
“The team hasn’t been
to state in a few years and
Davis [Billows] and I really
want to go this season.”
Providence hasn’t been
to state as a team since
capping a run of six trips
in eight years in 2016. Although
they move to Class
2A this season, it’s not going
to be easy.
“There’s seven teams
that could advance out
of the sectional to state,”
Billows said. “So it’s just
a matter of the team coming
together, and we really
want it.”