Wyatt Novotny didn’t want to be the next Tiger Woods.

He wanted to be just like his big brother, Colton.

Colton is the one Wyatt always looked up to and learned to play golf from.

“If it wasn’t for Colton, I wouldn’t be playing golf. That’s for sure. All the credit to him,” Wyatt said. “He’s my role model, especially in golf and just in life. He’s the best brother I could ask for.”

When Novotny captured the Class 1A state championship this year, the first person he hugged was his brother.

“I won’t forget that moment,” Wyatt Novotny said. “He made sure to hug me first and tell me how proud he is of me. That sure meant a lot.”

Novotny became the first Class 1A state champion from Bureau County, shooting an even-par 144 at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington, taking the gold medal by two strokes.

The Bureau Valley senior had the lowest season average (36) in the area. He earned first-team Lincoln Trail All-Conference honors, was a three-time state qualifier.

He also set school records for lowest scores for 9 holes (31), 18-hole home (68) and 18-hole away (70) this season, along with the low-season average.

For all of his accomplishments, Novotny is the 2025 NewsTribune Boys Golfer of the Year.

Novotny first picked up a golf club when he was 7, but didn’t start playing it seriously until he was 10. He learned not only how to play from his brother, but all the finer aspects of the game.

“Learned the mental side from him. To keep calm and just have fun. Sometimes players just take it way to serious and don’t enjoy (the game),” he said. “This year I started to enjoy the architecture of the course and just the nature they provide. It certainly helps. Calms me down and just makes you think how blessed we are to be here. How fun it is.”

Winning a state championship was not on Novotny’s radar when he first started to play the game.

“Took me about one or two years. That’s when Colton graduated high school. I kind of got the picture of what high school golf looked like,” he said. “State champion ... I really had no idea until about 12 years old. That’s when I realized how far you can go. That’s when the dream was born.”

It was a dream reached that no other golfer from Bureau County has reached before. The highest place-finisher before Novotny was Princeton’s Kyle Castner, who placed third in 2003. The only other medalist for Bureau Valley is Justin “Tank” VanLanduit, who placed ninth in 1995, the first year of the school.

Novotny will attend Illinois Central College in East Peoria on a full-ride scholarship to play golf next fall with aspirations to play at a higher level.

“I’m going to go there and try to play some good golf. After that, the plan is to transfer to a bigger, ideally a DI school, just to play some more golf,” Novotny said.

Before then, there will be a lot of golf played between the brothers. Wyatt makes the trip to Fyre Lake in Sherrard to play with his brother three or four times a week during the summer. Colton, 26, who played collegiately at Maryville (Tenn.) College is the assistant golf superintendent there.

“He’s my favorite player to play with,” Wyatt said.

For now, big brother still pulls rank most times they tee up together.

“I will admit I’ve had all the success, but he’s still got me,” Wyatt said. “I’ve won some matches here and there, but he’s had my number. Hopefully, the sooner the better [I can get him].”

There is another Novotny brother, Grady, a seventh grader, coming up. Will he follow in his brothers’ footsteps?

“He’s kind of making his decision. He’s in seventh grade. He’s playing JFL, so he’s trying to decide if he likes the football or golf side better. I think he’ll turn to golf, but whatever he decides, he’ll be great at it.”