Somonauk's Jaylen Dion claims individual title at Little Ten Meet

SHABBONA — Famous golfer Bobby Jones once said, "Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course — the distance between your ears."

Somonauk junior Jaylen Dion can attest to that.

Dion was able to shift his focus to just his own play and not that of others around him midway through his round during Monday's Little Ten Conference Boys Golf Tournament here at Indian Oaks Country Club, and the result was finishing with an 84 and the event's championship.

"This is very special for me, and I can say I was a little shocked when I heard my name called first, because I really didn't think I did that well," said Dion. "One problem I have, especially in a tournament like this, is that I'm thinking too much about how everyone else is doing. I need to get away from doing that and focus more on my game.

"Toward the middle of my round, I felt like I was really picking things up, playing like I want to be, and also concentrating more on what I was doing. My driving was really strong today, but my putting was the worst. It seemed like some of the greens were fast and some were slow. ...

"Either way, I struggled in my putting game today, but I guess it worked out."

Hinckley-Big Rock captured the team title after carding a 356, with Somonauk [365] finishing second, just ahead of Newark-Serena [366], the champion the previous three years. Indian Creek placed fourth with a 410, and Earlville fifth with a 426.

The Newark-Serena duo of junior Dylan Cartwright and sophomore Cam Figgins placed second and third, respectively, the former shooting an 85 and the latter an 87.

"After the first couple of holes, I went on a pretty good streak of birdies and pars," said Cartwright. "Unfortunately, I then had a bogey and double-bogey that hurt me a little, but I just kept attacking the course and tried to make the best shots I could after that. I had a few really good drives, not my best, but my short game was pretty solid. I was able to chip the ball pretty close to the hole consistently all day, and my putting wasn't bad either."

"Everything came together today other than a couple bad holes where I blew up and didn't play them that well in the middle of the round," said Figgins. "I was able to recover from those and finish up pretty well. I was also happy with my play on No. 6 today. It's a par-3 over a pond that has given me some problems in the past, but today I hit both my tee shots on the green and was able to par it twice."

Junior Jeremy Weymouth recorded the best round for the Red Raiders with a 96.

"I felt my drives were consistent all day, and I only had one or two that weren't in the fairway, but I really struggled with my short game, and it killed me," said Weymouth. "I think I putted well, but the shots that came in between my drives and the green weren't as good as I would have liked.

"In the summer I came here and shot an 85, so that was my goal today, but I just fell short. It's frustrating, but all I can do is do better next time out."

The Bobcats' team scoring on the day was rounded out by Alex Krejci [92], Carter Andrews [94] and Tyler Jansen [95], while the Huskers added Braxton Hart's 96 and Carson Baker's 98 to their total.

The Red Raiders closed out their scoring with Connor Cook [107], Jake Pickert [110] and Ryan Browder [113].