Burlington’s Weber in 6th at 2A state
Only three shots separate Burlington Central sophomore Matt Weber from the top score at the IHSA Class 2A state boys golf finals in Normal.
Weber shot a 4-over par 75 Friday at Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State University Friday to finish the first round of the state tournament tied for sixth place with junior Jaret Brewer of Marion.
“I played pretty good today through the wind and tough conditions,” said Weber. “I threw a couple strokes today that I’m pretty frustrated about but overall it was a good round. It was really windy out there.”
Weber started on the back nine and was solid until he got to 16.
“I got on the wrong side of the hole on 16 and bogeyd and then I got out of position on 18 and bogeyd,” he said. “I should have parred both of them. I felt like I just gave away shots.”
St. Edward senior Mike Holeas shot an 83 Friday and is tied for 49th place.
Austin VonAlst of Belleville Althoff, Shane Purtle of Lemont and Luke Waggoner of Marian Central each had 72s to head into today’s final round tied for the lead. Sam Lidisky of Belleville Althoff and Matt Deluka of Hillsboro shot 74s.
Weber said he feels confident he can with the state championship if he just stays within himself.
“It’s going to be a wind game again,” he said. “You can’t try to force anything. I have to go get the guys ahead of me and try to make something happen but you can’t force it.”
Belleville Althoff has the lead in the team standings after shooting a 308. Lemont is at 313 and Washington at 315.
Class 3A: Crystal Lake South senior Nick Robles, the defending state champ, is tied for 15th place in the Class 3A state tournament after shooting a 77 Friday at The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington. Huntley freshman Trent Craig shot 77 and is tied for 23rd, and Jacobs junior Sean Kozak shot 83 and is tied for 61st.
Lake Forest senior Joe Willis is the first-round leader with a 71, while Barrington senior J.P. Talbot stands at 73.
With a 303, Lake Forest leads the team standings. Lyons is second at 310 and Barrington third at 313.
Class 1A: Elgin Academy junior Andrew Dkun shot an 84 in the Class 1A tournament at Prairie Vista in Bloomington and is tied for 46th place. Bismarck-Henning sophomore Andy Bott leads with a 71.