Knights come up big
Curran comes through with huge rally to lead Lincoln-Way Central to sectional title
Clemson recruit Sean Curran comes through with huge rally to lead Lincoln-Way Central to sectional title.
Sitting 5-over par after six holes and seven strokes off the lead, Lincoln-Way Central’s Sean Curran didn’t have the look of a sectional champion.
But how’s the old saying go? It’s not how you start but how you finish.
Thirteen holes later, the Clemson recruit was on top of the heap after winning a one-hole playoff Monday in the Class 3A Pekin Sectional at Lick Creek Golf Course.
Curran finished with a 1-over 73, besting Pekin’s Mason Minkel by one stroke after picking up a birdie on the No. 10 hole in the playoff.
“I got off to a bad start,” Curran said. “I had to get my game together.”
It was a stunning comeback, one that had spectators and players alike at Lick Creek shaking their heads.
Curran started his day on the back nine, and after those struggles on the first six holes, finished with an eagle, a birdie and a birdie to get to 1-over.
Game on.
“I really don’t worry what other players are doing,” he said. “I didn’t make any adjustments. I really wasn’t playing that bad early. I just missed some putts.”
That included a 3-footer for birdie on the No. 10 hole.
Curran, however, gained revenge on the very same hole during the playoff.
Minkel hit a beautiful drive that landed approximately 30 yards off the green on the uphill 364-yard, par-4 setup.
Curran stepped up and hammered a drive that was pin high just left of the green. He could still use his putter, getting the ball to within 3 feet.
He then sank the putt, which circled the hole before falling in for a birdie and the win. Minkel settled for a par.
“I played the hole the same way in the morning, but I missed the putt,” Curran said. “I made a slight adjustment.”
Curran forced the overtime with a birdie on the final hole in regulation. He smashed a drive on the par-4, 400-yard No. 9 hole pin high into a sand bunker just left of the green.
Although a strong wind helped that drive, no one in Curran’s foursome was within 60 yards of his shot.
Curran hit a clutch sand wedge within 5 feet and drained the putt.
“I’m not surprised at all at what he was able to do,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Ryan Pohlmann said. “He is a generational talent. I look forward to watching him play golf on TV one day.”
With Curran leading the charge, the Knights won the sectional title with a 312. Sandburg was second with a 316, followed by Lockport at 322, Pekin at 324, O’Fallon at 337, Quincy at 341, Marist at 359 and Minooka at 371.
Curran received stellar support from Juney Baiwith a 76, Nick Tingley with an 80 and Jacob Stoetzel with an 83.
“You always need that senior to step up, and Nick was that senior who showed up this year,” Pohlmann said. “Stoetzel was huge.
“And when you have two really good players like Sean and Juney who can control and manage their emotions, the coaches can focus on helping other players.”
Lockport’s Ben Sluzas, a Northern Illinois recruit and two-time defending state champion, finished in a tie for third with a 76.
Other local golfers who finished in the top 10 included Sandburg’s Cole Sanders in fifth with a 77; Lincoln-Way West’s Aidan Healy and Sandburg’s Stephen Gallagher tied for sixth with 78; and Sandburg’s Alex Pineda was 10th with an 80.
With no state meet scheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sluzas will not have a chance to become only the second player in state history to win three straight titles.
“In the beginning, I was pretty upset,” Sluzas said. “But later on I realized I can’t control it. I tried to do my best at every tournament.”