Huntley’s Craig brother battle goes to Trent
After they each carded 78s Monday at the Class 3A Fremd boys golf sectional at Hilldale, Ryan and Trent Craig were in a very odd situation.
The Huntley brothers would be part of a 3-way playoff along with Prospect’s Josh Johnson for the last two individual spots for this weekend’s state tournament at The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington.
After Johnson parred the first playoff hole and the Craigs got bogeys, it was just the two brothers left to battle it out for the remaining spot.
Trent, a freshman, proved to be the better of the two on Monday, making par on the third playoff hole to outlast his older brother and qualify for state.
“It was a bittersweet victory because of how much we both wanted to go to state,” Trent said.
Once Johnson clinched a spot, the Craigs replayed the 18th hole. Trent’s second shot ventured off the green and into the rough while Ryan stuck his within 8 feet of the pin. Trent answered with the shot of the day as he chipped in for a birdie.
“Right when I got up to it, I knew that I was going to chip in,” Trent said. “I could just tell. It’s one of my favorite shots to take. I knew that under pressure, it would be a great shot to make.”
But Ryan wasn’t about to let his brother off easy as the junior calmly sank his own birdie putt to force a third playoff hole.
“When he chipped in, I couldn’t believe it,” Ryan said. “I thought I had him. I had to come through in the clutch and make a putt, and I did.”
Trent made par on the final playoff hole while Ryan made bogey. Despite the win, Trent insisted that Ryan would beat him 9 times out of 10.
“He’s been maybe a little bit more consistent,” Trent said. “We’ve been pretty close but I’d say he’s a little bit better player.”
The two have been playing together their entire lives and while it didn’t turn out like they wanted, Ryan enjoyed the competition.
“The plan was for both of us to move on,” Ryan said. “It’s tough to handle but at the same time I’m very happy for him. We play together so much that it was comfortable but at the same time, somewhat awkward because one of us is going to state and one is not. Overall, it was a great experience.”
Crystal Lake South’s Nick Robles fired a 2-over par 73 to earn a chance to defend his state championship. The senior was fairly consistent, shooting a 36 on the front 9 and a 37 on the back 9 to finish in third place.
“I was playing to help my team as much as possible and to qualify,” Robles said. “That’s the biggest part of sectionals for me so I’m happy I got through with that.”
Sean Kozak of Jacobs shot a 74 to qualify individually as well.
Carmel senior Brian Miller won the tournament with a 70. Lake Forest (301), Carmel (301) and Barrington (313) nabbed the team qualifying spots.