Four years of varsity golf experience taught Blake Makowski not to dwell on a three-put, as there always could be a second chance.
The Geneva senior thought he gave away the DuKane Conference Tournament individual title with a bogey on No. 18 at Bartlett Hills. Stuck even with Lake Park sophomore Arjav Shah, the Geneva senior figured he would fall in tiebreakers by hardest hole handicap.
He received different news in the clubhouse Tuesday: go back to the 18th tee box. Time allowed for a sudden-death playoff. Makowski couldn’t be happier.
“I was like, ‘Yeah let’s do it,’” Makowski said. “I was excited.”
Just like he did last time, Makowski went back to the nine-iron. He admitted was a little tight on his first swing, launching his ball just past the pond and on the edge of the green, about 30 feet away from the pin.
He recaptured his poise on the green. His second shot got to 10 feet and he nailed the par putt to win. Makowski finished with a 71 as Geneva finished second at the tournament but first overall for the season.
“He’s been extremely solid all season long,” Geneva head coach Eric Hatczel said of Makowski, who earned conference Player of the Year honors. “But coming down the...