“I just told myself, ‘Let’s really focus more these last nine holes and go low. Don’t think that just bogeying this or that hole hole or parring the final two holes is good enough. Don’t think that a 76 or 77 is good enough.’ "

It was a great season on the links for boys golfers around The Times area, with three conference tournament champions, four individual state qualifiers and a team — the Ottawa Pirates — scoring a top-10 finish at the Class 2A IHSA State Finals.

Ottawa finishes 8th at Class 2A State Boys Golf Finals, Drake Kaufman places 11th. Lemont earns 4th-place mark; Crystal Lake Central gathers 5th place