Golfer Drew Pacilio cards an 85, his best score yet, on roller coaster Saturday at Sandy Pines, two days before Senior Day

Patrick Mochen
Onwardtrojans.com

Senior Drew Pacilio shot an 85, his best score yet, Saturday at Sandy Pines in De Motte during the Lake Central Classic. Pacilio had some frustration after a few bad holes, but was still able to save his score with good holes afterward.
“It was a solid day,” Pacilio said. “I had two triples which hurt my overall score but on individual holes I feel like I played well. I bounced back a little bit.”
Pacilio explained both of his poor holes, saying the first was a drive that went out of bounds, and on the second he should have used a different club. He clubbed up because of a deep lie and he ended up sending an airmail over the green. Overall, he was able to drive himself to a good score, impressive on a tough course.
“The greens are very fast. They played it long today,” he said. “My driver was keeping me safe, except one hole. I kept hitting fairway. If I hit a few more greens, it would have been a little bit better, but overall I’m happy.”
Another strength of Pacilio was his ability to recover from a shot in the sand trap.
“The bunkers were very smooth,” he said. “I’m good coming out of the sand. I’m not too afraid of the bunkers. I feel like I can score if I can get up and down out of a bunker I’m happy.”
Had Pacilio been able to get putts to fall, his score could have been several strokes better. After his second triple bogey, he had a particularly impressive chip on a par 3 that almost went in. Pacilio drove himself to the fringe, which was on an awkward hill, and then chipped the ball within inches of the pin, nearly getting a birdie on No. 17.
“It was a tough chip, going downhill, gotta put a little spin on it,” he said.
Before going to that hole, Pacilio crossed paths with his head coach who gave him some encouragement, telling him not to worry about his mistakes.
“That was his story last year,” second-year coach Marc Bruner said. “Little mistakes would turn into big mistakes and he’s not doing that, and he’s such a nice kid you have to be firm with him. I saw him after maybe his 15th hole, he’s like it's not going well, he just tripled. I said things are going fine Drew.”
Once Pacilio had finished his round and recovered nicely, his dissatisfaction gave way and he was able to smile at his score, even though he knew it could be better.
“He tries to play in control. He’s a little more of a cautious player, he doesn’t take a lot of chances, and that works for him,” Bruner said. “He was disappointed he didn’t play last weekend. He responded to that and he’s realized it's his senior year and he’s got some goals he wants to achieve.”
On Monday, the golf team hosts Laporte and Plymouth for senior day.
When asked what he will miss about Pacilio, Bruner responded, “Drew’s got a personality that is very easygoing. Honestly, I’ll miss watching him and Jake (Bobin) take shots at each other. It’s more onesided. Jake’s a fun kid and he will needle Drew with things, all in good fun, and Drew really takes it well. I’ll miss the sincerity of the person he is and he’s just a really good kid.”