Alli Wiertel is not a young lady lacking for confidence on the golf course, but it never hurts to hear words of encouragement from a trusted voice.

Wiertel has it, right at home.

The Oswego sophomore’s dad, Jason Wiertel, is a caddie to professional golfer Luke Clanton, a rising star on the PGA Tour.

As daughter and dad talked through things after the first round of last weekend’s Class 2A state golf tournament, the message was clear: the shots were there, and it was her time.

“My dad said there were so many putts out there for me. He said you are going to make so many birdies, and you’re going to go on a run,” Wiertel said. “We knew what I was capable of. I was lucky enough for it to happen. Manifesting itself was cool.”

Indeed, Wiertel made history happen.

Wiertel, in third place after round one, fired a 7-under par 65 in Saturday’s final round and finished the tournament at 8-under par for a five-shot win over runner-up Martha Kuwahara of Glenbrook North.

In the process, Wiertel set IHSA Class 2A state meet records for a single round and two rounds to win the state championship in the event held at Hickory Point at Forsyth.

“It’s just a great accomplishment,” Wiertel said. “I knew I could do it, but it’s good to see it happen, knowing that all of my hard work paid off.”

Wiertel was just two shots back of the lead after the first round, but wasn’t thrilled with her first round. She knew she had more birdies to make.

When her coach talked to Wiertel before the final round, he asked what the gameplan was.

“Be as aggressive as possible,” Wiertel said. “Even when I had the lead I was aggressive.”

Her record round did not start in ideal fashion.

Wiertel hit a shot on the first hole right into the trees, and she made bogey.

But it only propelled Wiertel into the rest of the round, served as motivation and sharpened her focus.

The next hole was a short par 5 she made eagle on in the first round.

Wiertel birdied it, then made three birdies in a row from the fifth through seventh holes.

“I just kept giving myself birdie looks,” Wiertel said. “I had so much confidence. My swing was good, my putting stroke was good. I kept giving myself looks, hitting close shots and my putter was really good. That first round, I had pieces of my game that were not there. That last day, it just all came together.”

It all came together for Wiertel this fall in a sensational sophomore season.

She was medalist in every conference dual match, captured the conference title by 11 strokes and won six 18-hole tournaments.

Wiertel set course records of 63 at Glendale Lakes and 59 at Whitetail Ridge. She shot a bogey-free 65 to win regionals.

She tried to stay as humble as possible, but after all the big events and tough competition she’s faced, Wiertel believed she was ready for the moment.

“I know where my game is, what I need to do in those situations,” she said. “I have proven to myself that I can do it.”

She credits her dad, a former basketball and baseball star at Buffalo Grove and Carthage College before taking up coaching and caddying, in helping to sharpen that mental edge.

“Even before he started caddying he has always been such a mentor to me,” Wiertel said. “The spot I am in in my game, I have to credit to him a lot. The mental game is such a big part of him. If my mental game wasn’t so strong I wouldn’t be the player I am.”

Wiertel didn’t shy away from looking at the leaderboard as Saturday’s final round progressed. She said it motivates her to see where other people are.

She was 4-under at the turn, 5-under for the tournament, and ended up with the five-shot win.

Setting any records was not on Wiertel’s mind until her friend and playing partner Reese Wallace of Barrington brought it up.

“After my round, it might have been Reese was like, ‘Is that the record?’ That was cool, to realize what I accomplished,” said Wiertel, who celebrated the round with family and friends over pizza, cake and the Cubs game. “I didn’t think about the record during my round at all. I just wanted to make birdies.”