Dillon shoots under par to lead Wildcats at Ottawa
The Louisburg golf team took second place at the Ottawa Invitational on Monday after shooting at 350. Members of the team are (from left) Parker Perentis, Ryan Haight, Drake Varns, Kai Tinich and Calvin Dillon. Not pictured is Justin Sievert.
OTTAWA – Calvin Dillon has shot some of the best golf of his high school career so far this season.
It got even better Monday.
Dillon, a Louisburg High School sophomore, carded a 1-under-par 70 during the Ottawa Invitational at Ottawa Country Club to win his fourth consecutive tournament and pulled off some spectacular shots to make it happen.
That performance helped the Wildcat golf team to a second place finish as it shot a 350. Ottawa won its home tournament with a 337.
Dillon wasn’t the only Wildcat to earn a medal as sophomore Drake Varns earned his first varsity medal as he shot a 90 to finish 10th overall. Varns tied with teammate Parker Perentis, who also carded a 90, but won the tiebreaker for the last medal spot.
Sophomore Ryan Haight ended his round with a 95 to finish fourth on the Wildcat team. Seniors Justin Sievert and Kai Tinich shot a 96 and 100, respectively.
It was a blustery day on the course that saw up to 25 mile-per-hour winds, which was difficult on a lot of golfers and led to a lot of high scores.
Dillon, however, managed to avoid the obstacles and shot the best round of his Wildcat career. He recorded three birdies on the day and also got an eagle on the par 71 course.
“I played very well considering the conditions,” Dillon said. “Leading up to this tournament I had been hitting the ball well. Although it was windy, I was confident I could post a good number.
“The course played difficult because of the windy conditions and the small greens. I knew going in that I would have to rely on my short game. Fortunately, I had good control of my ball flight most of the day and my short game was good.”
He nearly pulled off the unthinkable on the par-5 No. 9 when he almost recorded a double eagle. Dillon hit his second shot on the fairway that went over the water, onto the green and just a couple inches from the cup where he was able to tap in for eagle.
“My round got jump started on the 8th and 9th hole,” Dillon said. “I made a nice birdie on 8. On the par-5 9th, I decided I would have a go at the green, challenging the water if I put my drive in the fairway. I had 230 yards to the pin with a big crosswind. I hit a 3-wood and it was on a good line. I knew it was on the green, but I could not tell how close it was.”
Louisburg will close out it regular season next week with a pair of tournaments. The Wildcats will travel to Garnett on Tuesday for the Anderson County Invitational and then will play at Prairie View at Deer Trace Golf Club on Thursday.
The Wildcats will then go back to Garnett on May 14 for its regional tournament.