Caleb Dzierzynski wins first Illinois Valley Men’s Golf Championship title

Caleb Dzierzynski knocked in a short putt, pumped his fist, tipped his head back and let out a breath.

With the putt on No. 18 at Senica’s Oak Ridge Golf Course on Sunday, Dzierzynski wrapped up his first Illinois Valley Men’s Golf Championship.

“It felt really good,” said Dzierzynski, who carded a two-round score of 138. “Until you do it, it’s just stressful, stressful, stressful and it finally goes in, and it’s just a sigh of relief that you’re finally done and you can just forever be recognized among the great players in the area.”

Dzierzynski beat Doug Pinter and Jerry Joiner by two strokes, while Baley Lehr (141) placed fourth, and Jon Prescott and Matt Morse tied for fifth at 142.

“I had a couple of mistakes, but at the end of the day I did enough to get it done, and it still hasn’t really set in yet, but it feels good,” Dzierzynski said.

After shooting a 66 at Edgewood Park Golf Club, his home course, on Saturday to enter the final round tied for the lead, Dzierzynski built a six-stroke advantage with eight holes to go, propelled by a three-hole stretch of birdie, eagle, birdie.

“Until you do it, it’s just stressful, stressful, stressful and it finally goes in and it’s just a sigh of relief that you’re finally done and you can just forever be recognized among the great players in the area.”

—  Caleb Dzierzynski

“I knew that the back nine was a little bit tougher so I kept telling myself, ‘More, more, more,’ ” said Dzierzynski, a 2018 Putnam County graduate. “I just wanted to pile on as much as I can because it would give me some leeway on the back nine. I didn’t, obviously, want to make double on 11. I kind of got a little unlucky there, but the big lead at the beginning definitely gave me some cushion and a little bit more confidence going to the back.”

Dzierzynski needed the cushion as Joiner rallied, pulling within a stroke after a birdie and an eagle on No. 13 and No. 14, while Dzierzynski had a double bogey on No. 11 and a bogey on No. 12.

However, Dzierzynski rebounded with pars on Nos. 13-14, a birdie on No. 15 and pars on No. 16 and No. 18.

“Coming down the stretch, you see some guys playing well and you’re struggling, you just kind of have to reset,” Dzierzynski said. “I made the putt on No. 13 for par and that got me back into the groove a little bit. After that I had a good tee shot on 14 and I felt a little bit better about my game.”

Joiner said he’s been in the top 10 of the tournament before, but never has placed as high as he did this year.

“It’s big,” Joiner said. “It’s something I didn’t expect. It felt good. I played well.

“[The key to my success was] maintaining composure, just being smart, taking what the course gives you, nestle up some putts when you have to, don’t go for it all the time.”

Joiner’s birdie-eagle stretch came after he recorded a bogey on No. 12.

“I bogeyed the hole prior and said, ‘I have to get it back here,’ ” Joiner said. “I made that birdie then I got to the tee block and just hit a nice drive. Everybody was watching and I’m thinking, ‘Just don’t skull this. Knock that in for an eagle.’ It felt pretty good. I just tried to get close and I got lucky.”

While Joiner was new to the top three, Pinter was not as he was also runner-up in 2020.

“Solid field,” Pinter said. “[Saturday] I had the best opening round I’ve had in a long time [67], a shot off the lead. Jerry got it going today. I just couldn’t find it. I didn’t have the pace today. But hats off to Caleb. I mean, that guy didn’t miss center of the club face much today. It was fun to watch him.”

Pinter recorded six birdies in the first round and had three more Sunday.

“I was on with my irons,” Pinter said about his first round. “I had like four kick ins from less than a foot. My putter was working when I needed it too. My driver. I had it all going [Saturday]. Then today, I just struggled. My swing got a little long on the front nine then I started shortening it up, hitting it a little bit more solid on the back nine. But my putter, I didn’t make them when I had to. I hit a lot of edges.”

Brent Tkach won A class with a 151, Pat Kerchner took B class with a 151 and Clayton Buffington won C class with a 171.