Needing to par the 18th hole of the tournament junior Jason Sobelman was forced to make a two putt from 18 feet away to send himself to the State tournament.
“At the time I didn’t know I needed an 80 to make the cut,” Sobelman said “It was mainly a gut feeling that I would have to finish at 80 or better to reach Springfield.
Sobelman ultimately made the second putt to finish with a 18 hole score of 80 and reach the state tournament in a 3 way tie for the highest score in.
“Those putts on 18 were huge and were the final factor that allowed me to advance,” Sobelman said.
Making the State tournament has been one of Sobelman’s goals throughout his high school career.
“It is an amazing feeling to qualify for the State Tournament. Reaching State has been my top goal since my freshman season and I have put a lot of time and effort into reaching the tournament,” Sobelman said “I am really hoping that my hard work will continue to pay off when the tournament begins Monday.”
Sobelman will be competing against 91 other golfers at the tournament. He believes the time he has spent practicing will have prepared him to compete at the highest level.
“To be successful at state, I really feel like I just have to stay focused on the simple parts of my game. I have put the time in at practice and now I just have to trust myself to compete at the highest level,” Sobelman said.
The gravity of the moment does not appear to affect Sobelman going into a week of practice prior to the tournament.
“I really just have to focus on following the same routines I have all season. Although this is the most important tournament of my season, I have to approach it like any other tournament. Sobelman said. “I need to stay focused on my game and go in there with a confident mentality knowing that I have prepared all year for moments like this.”