Area’s best golfers bring out the best in each other
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| Whenever Princeton junior Collin Slattery (left) and Hall senior Nick Rounds met on the golf course, the scores were going to be pretty good with the friendly competition bringing out the best in one another. They share the 2009 BCR Golfer of the year honors with near identical averages and season highlights. (BCR photo/Chris Yucus) |
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Whenever the 2009 BCR golfers of the year, Hall senior Nick Rounds, and Princeton junior Collin Slattery got together on the links, they knew they were in for some tough competition.
“We always knew what each other was doing in the round, whether I was beating him or he was beating me,” Rounds said. “It was good competition, I liked it, it was fun this year.”
Along with the competition aspect of meeting up, the two golfers shared a mutual admiration.
“I loved playing with Nick, we get along well,” Slattery said. “I really admire Nick ... I really liked playing against him and competing with him, it was good experience.”
“We get along on the course,” Rounds said. “We both had pretty good seasons I thought.”
Slattery said that the two golfers squared off six times in the season, with each golfer winning three of the meetings.
“And when we lost to each other, it wasn’t by very many strokes,” he added.
Rounds earned the BCR co-golfer of the year award with teammate Adam Doll last season, and claimed the award on his own as a sophomore, making him the first three-time recipient of the award.
The Hall senior carded a nine-hole average of 39.3 this season, and said his proudest moment this year was his repeat win at the Princeton Invitational, where he shot a 73 at Hunters Ridge, two strokes above Slattery who tied for second place.
“Winning that again this year was probably my biggest highlight,” Rounds said.
Along with his win in the Princeton Invitational, Rounds also placed third, with a 77, at the Kewanee Invite, tied for third at the Mendota regional, with an 84, and placed ninth out of 138 golfers, with a 75, at the L-P Invite.
Slattery, the Tigers’ MVP, carried a nine-hole average of 39.9 and 77.6 per 18-hole matches. He earned top-golfer honors in the NCIC Lincoln conference for his performances in conference play this season.
Slattery locked up the award with his second-place finish at the conference meet at Arrowhead Country Club, shooting a 78 in the rain to finish one stroke off the lead.
“That was probably one of the worst weather conditions I’ve ever played in,” said Slattery.
Slattery continued his bad-weather success later in the season, tying for first, with a 75, at the Rockridge regional on another rainy day, before finishing second after in a 3-man playoff.
Other achievements for Slattery this season included winning the Mendota Ryder Cup with Cole Evenson, which he said was the highlight of his year, carding a 77 to finish fourth at the Rocket Invite, and a fifth-place finish at the Streator Invitational with a 76.
Both golfers said they spent a lot of time this summer honing their games for the fall golf season.
“This summer I played a lot of tournaments outside of high school golf,” said Rounds, who also took his first golf lessons and worked cleaning clubs at Deer Park in Oglesby.
Rounds said that his biggest gains came in driving and putting.
“I had a couple meets where I had less than 15 putts, and a couple invitationals that I had less than 30. I also hit the ball a lot farther and a lot straighter,” Rounds said.
Slattery said that he spent his summer working on his short game.
“Instead of just going out and playing nine holes, I would just go out and work around the green, putting and chipping,” Slattery said.
“I think it definitely helped me a lot,” said Slattery, who plans on continuing to develop his short game. “I think that by next season I should, hopefully, be putting and chipping a lot better.”
Along with top talent, both golfers share something else — a deep appreciation of golf, their favorite sport.
“Whenever I’m on the golf course, I know it’s not relaxing for a lot of people, but it’s relaxing for me,” said Slattery. “It’s a place I can go to just to relax and have fun ... it’s like a second home I guess.”
“It’s the only sport I don’t mind going to practice every day,” said Rounds, “I just love to do it.”
Rounds is hoping to be able to continue his golf career at the collegiate level after he graduates in the spring, and is currently in the process of choosing a school.
Slattery said he will be working on his game diligently again this summer in preparation for his senior campaign at PHS, with his sights set on qualifying for state.
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