Connor Byon, Bloomington South boys golf in contention at state finals

CARMEL — Heading into the state finals, more than a few golfers are carrying around a bundle of nerves in their bag along with their clubs and gear.

Not Bloomington South junior Connor Byon, who spun his best round ever at Prairie View Golf Club in the IHSAA State finals on a cool, sometimes rainy and breezy Tuesday afternoon, shooting a 1-under 71 putting him in a six-way tie for fifth heading into Wednesday's finals. It was his fifth career round at state and it looked like it with three birdies and two bogeys.

He made it through the 16-17-18 gauntlet 1-over then went 1-under on his last seven.

"I felt great," Byon said. "Usually in the past when I've come out here, I get nervous. But this year, there was something else I felt in myself."

It went back to the workouts he and South distance runner Ryan Rheam, who recently took third in the 3,200 at state, did while pushing each other through the off-season.

"He would push me to go work out with him every single day," Byon said. "He'd say, 'I want you to get as good as possible.' And I would tell him the same thing.

"And last night, he gave me a phone call and he gave me a couple good words: 'I wouldn't have finished third at the state finals if it weren't for you.' And he said, 'You go do something special tomorrow, you've got 36 holes to change your life.'"

The Panthers have 18 left to secure their spots on the medal stand reserved for the top four teams and top 10 individuals.

Sitting in a tie for 11th and looking to get in the top 10 is junior Happy Gilmore, who lit up the front nine (his back nine) with three straight birdies and closing with a 34 for an even-par 72. Nick Bellush had a 77 while freshman Colton Watson added an 84. Their efforts helped South score a 304 and a tie for fourth, 12 shots off the lead.

"Connor plays this course better than anyone on the team," South coach Dustin Carver said. "He doesn't get ahead of himself and plays it well. He's had three strong years here, so it's no surprise."

Staying in contention

The Panthers sat in the top three much of the day.

"Getting off to a good start was vital," said Carver, more than happy with a 304, his team's best round at state since the 2016 squad fired a final round 303.

He saw his freshman battle through a big number or two but hang tough. "That's what we needed," Carver said.

Gilmore came back from a slow start (38) with a run of four birdies in five holes on 17, 1, 2 and 3.

"I knew birdie holes were up," Gilmore said. "I was just feeling it. I got hot there on a good stretch of holes."

Bellush got off to a great start with a 36 on the front but had a bumpy ride home.

"You have to commit to your shots," Carver said. "You can't overthink it. Nothing good happens when you do that."

Knapp time

Bloomington North's Jacob Knapp got off to a solid start in his first state meet, finishing with a 77 to tie for 32nd.

"I was definitely anxious," Knapp said. "I had to wake up early for the hour-and-a-half drive, but it was a good feeling going to state this morning. Driving in here, seeing all the signs for state is pretty cool."

The Hanover-bound senior was 4-over on the front but started the back with two birdies, including a tee shot on the par-3 No. 12 hole that settled nicely for a two-foot putt to get him to 2-over.

"I saw my driver was pretty good early on and I was able to get a few good up and downs," Knapp said. "And also my putting was good early on. I had some good two putts to save myself.

"And then I had a few rough holes toward the end of my first nine. But starting the second nine, I had two birdies which helped. That starting nine helped me feel confident going into it just trying to have fun and hit the ball."

He hit a similar approach on 13 but left a longer birdie putt he couldn't sink. He also came up with an unusual par on 16, going from fairway bunker to greenside bunker on his second shot and chipping on to leave a 25-foot putt. He sank it and finished in 37.

"When I hit my driver, I knew I was going to be either in the water or the bunker," Knapp said. "I thought, I just want to get a bogey on this and move on and I went to another bunker. Now I need to get this for an up and down and I made the putt, which felt really good."

Tee times and a tiebreaker

Wednesday's second-round tee times have Knapp off on No. 10 this time at 8:09 a.m., while South will be paired up with Evansville North and Hamilton Southeastern and start on No. 1 at 9:03 with Harrison Bomba, followed by Colton Watson (9:12), Byon (9:21), Gilmore (9:30) and Bellush (9:39).

"One through five, they're itching to get back out there and play another 18," Carver said with his team loaded up on the bus and headed to dinner and their hotel.

Heading into the second round, South is tied for fourth with Hamilton Southeastern and one shot in back of Valparaiso, so it's possible every score could be relevant, especially if there's a fifth-man tiebreaker in the end.

There's also a good chance for the Panthers to sneak up into third with Valparaiso just one shot up at 303. Guerin Catholic (291) and Westfield (293) lead the field.

"We have nothing to lose," Gilmore said.

"We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, but it shouldn't mean that we're going to pressure ourselves to go out and perform," Byon said. "We've been working hard all year and this is just an opportunity for us to prove that."

Individually, Guerin Catholic's Jacob Modleski and Valparaiso's Aiden Gutierrez, the defending champ, lead by two shots with 67s.

Weather, or not

It was about 25 degrees cooler than what South suffered through at last year's meet as thick clouds kept things cool and a stiff breeze had IHSAA officials shortening the yardage on Nos. 4 and 9.

"I felt like the weather stayed pretty steady all day," Gilmore said. "I'm used to playing this course when it's real warm, hard. So preparing myself today, the ball wasn't rolling like it normally does. It wasn't flying as far. So I think that made a difference."

IHSAA BOYS' GOLF STATE TOURNAMENT

Team scores — 1. Guerin Catholic 291; 2. Westfield 293; 3. Valparaiso 303; 4. Hamilton Southeastern 304; Bloomington South 304; 6. Evansville North 307; T7. Zionsville 309; Tipton 309; 9. Columbus North 310; 10. Center Grove 313; 11. Noblesville 315; 12. Leo 318; 13. Chesterton 320; 14. Floyd Central 323; 15. Homestead 325; 16. Penn 326; 17. Evansville Memorial 339; 18. Northridge 355.

Individual leaders — T1. Jacob Modleski, GC, 67; Aiden Gutierrez, V, 67; 3. Brayden Miller, Fairfield 69; 4. Adam Melliere, Z, 70; T5. Mason Price, Carmel, 71; Leo Wessel, GC, 71; Justin Hicks, Leo, 71; Connor Byon, BSouth 71; Jake Cesare, West, 71; Maverick Conaway, Tip, 71.

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on Twitter @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: IHSAA boys golf: Byon, Bloomington South in contention at state finals