It wasn’t exactly a day at the beach for Our Lady of the Sacred Heart senior Jonah Schollaert and the rest of the field who participated in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA Class 2A Golf Championships at Penn State’s White Course.
Windy and cold conditions played havoc with some shots, but Schollaert battled through the meteorological adversity and finished with an even-par 72.
That leaves Schollaert in fourth place going into Tuesday’s second and final round, four strokes in back of leader Cole Powell of Scranton Prep, who finished with a 68.
Following Powell were Luke Sikora of Greensburg Salem, who shot 69, and Braeden Stringer of Berks Catholic, who fired a 71.
“I didn’t play very well, but I’ll take it,” said Schollaert, who birded the final two holes to finish at even par.
Schollaert said the temperatures were in the 45- to 50-degree range with wind gusts up to 25 mph or so. He said the conditions did impact some of his shots, as his driver was a bit off and the soft, slow greens were a challenge.
“It was mentally draining, but it worked out,” said Schollaert, who will go out with the final group of the day Tuesday.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s Jonah Schollaert is in fourth place after the opening round of the PIAA Class 2A Golf Championships, played Monday at Penn State’s White Course. Schollaert is four strokes back after shooting a 72. The tournament will conclude Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of OLSH Athletics)
Schollaert captured the WPIAL tournament earlier this month and was looking forward to his final shot at a PIAA title. He tied for second in last year’s tournament and has played in the event all four years.
Schollaert said last week he was confident heading into the PIAA tournament.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “I’m trying to finally win it. I’ve gotten better every year.”
Schollaert said as a freshman he was a bit nervous because he didn’t know what to expect.
“I got used to it pretty quickly,” he said. “There were more people than usual, but otherwise it was just like a normal tournament.”
Schollaert has been playing tournament golf since he was 6, about two years after his dad picked up a set of clubs for him at Walmart. His father worked with him until he was 11 or 12 and from that point on, he’s more or less been his own coach.
“I’ll take a lesson here or there – maybe one or two a year,” he said. “But I don’t have a set coach. I basically do everything on my own.”
At 6-foot and 140 pounds, Schollaert said he’s not sure what has enabled him to have the success he’s had at the high school level up to now.
He said usually his long game is his best attribute “but it depends on the day. My putting and chipping have improved the most but my irons and drivers are most consistently decent.”
Decent doesn’t do him justice, said Ron Lucas, OLSH’s golf coach.
“Jonah has great focus and a great work ethic with his game, and it definitely shows in the results and his consistency,” he said.
Lucas said golf is a game of repetition, practice and committing to a shot when playing. He said Schollaert does everything it takes to win.
“Many kids at his age do not put the time, effort and dedication to the game of golf,” he said. “Jonah is the exception.”
In the Class 3A girls tournament, Moon Area’s Liv DeGori shot an 84 and is in 22nd place among 36 golfers.
Be First to Comment