NORMAL — Nolan Eccles may not be well-versed in the history of Dunlap golf, but that’s OK — he’s now a part of it.
Behind a final-round, 3-under 68, the Dunlap junior won the Class 2A Illinois High School Association boys golf individual state title at Weibring Golf Club on Saturday. He matches Tony Turner (1993 Class A state champion) as the highest finisher in program history.
“Really?” Eccles said when told he joins Turner as the only other Eagles state champ golfer. “I haven’t heard of him before, but that’s great.”
Eccles, who carded a two-day, 5-under 137, was tied for the lead with a 2-under 69 after Friday’s opening round. He started his final 18 holes with a birdie on the second hole, then bogeyed No. 4 to finish at an even-par 36 on the front 9.
But once he made the turn, the all-Mid-Illini Conference first-teamer turned it on. He went birdie-birdie on the ninth and 10th holes, parred three holes in a row, birded No. 15 and finished with three successive pars on the back 9 for a 3-under 35.
“I was feeling super good,” Eccles said, noting the birdie putt he left about an inch short on 18. “I had to keep making pars, making some birdies, hopefully.”
He signed his scorecard and went to see where he stood.
“After I checked leaderboard,” the two-time state medalist said, “I felt good about (my round).”
This victory came following what Eccles described as having “a great regular season.” So, he took to the practice green, getting in 300 putts and 300 chips daily.
The result? A runner-up regional finish, a tied for fourth sectional showing and of course, a state championship.
“I made sure I was locked in for the postseason,” he said. “I felt good about my game.”
Washington finishes as Class 2A runner-up
A fifth-score tiebreaker sent Washington home as the Class 2A state second-place finisher. The Panthers and Normal U-High were tied at 596 for the weekend, but IHSA rules state: ‘ ‘fifth person’ scores will be compared, and the school with the lowest score will beat the other tied school(s).’
And Washington ended up as state runner-up for its second state trophy since a 2012 Class 2A third-place finish.
“We got dead last, last year (in Class 3A),” Washington senior Gavin Schreurs said with a laugh, “so kind of coming into this season it was our goal to really just go and compete at state. … Obviously, we did and we’re super excited and super glad that a lot of people stepped up on our team.”
Schreurs was the fourth-place overall finisher at one-under 141, shooting a one-under 70 on Saturday following an even-par 71 to open play. He was able to birdie the third, fifth and 12th holes to stay in contention for a top five finish.
The Bradley University commit won the Peoria Notre Dame Regional, then was tied for fourth at Bloomington Sectional.
“I made a lot of pars today,” Schreurs said, “which was kind of crucial. I played really good. I hit a lot of good shots today that I felt like were needed in the correct times.”
“He golfs like he’s a veteran, 30-year-old golfer on the PGA Tour,” Washington coach Dan Garske added, “in the sense that he always makes the right choice. That’s his strength … so that’s why he’s been so successful over the years.”
Teammate and junior Court Bohanan (74-74, 148) took tied for 11th with senior Dom Yocum (80-74, 154; T31), junior Aiden Foster (80-78, 158; T51) and Gage Garrison (80-81, 161; T65) rounding out the Washington golfers.
“I’ve expected (this finish) since last fall when we were (at state),” Garske said. “I knew we had (golfers) coming back and I knew that we had the horses to be here.”
More Peoria-area boys and girls golf finishers
Bureau Valley senior Wyatt Novotny won the Class 1A state championship, shooting a two-day, even-par 144 at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington. He outdistanced himself from Illini West sophomore Nolan Murphy, who tied for second at 146.
Illini Bluffs junior Crew Fortin also had a top-10 finish, tying for ninth thanks to a 1-over 73 on Saturday.
In Class 3A, Pekin sophomore Colin Kemp was the fourth-place finisher with a two-day 2-under 142 at Bloomington’s The Den at Fox Creek. He shot a 2-over 74 on Saturday after a 4-under 68 to open the state finals.
After carding a two-day, 13-over 157, Richwoods freshman Shane Cunningham wrapped up his first varsity season tied for 42nd place.
On the girls side, Sara Finn of Illini Bluffs was the highest Class 1A finisher at Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur. She was tied for 22nd with a 22-over 166 for the two rounds. United senior Meredith Yung was right behind her, tied for 23rd at 23-over 167 in two days.
Junior Sydney Hunt of Dunlap was tied for 15th in the Class 2A state finals at Forsyth’s Hickory Point Golf Course, carding a two-day, 8-over 152. Pekin junior Leah Brown was 19-over 163 over the two rounds.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
