Golfer Jake Bobin leads the way for Chesterton with a 75 and young team comes in at a salty 334 at the Lake Central Classic at Sandy Pines

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

The Lake Central Classic, played annually at picturesque Sandy Pines in DeMotte, gives local high school golfers an opportunity to play at the course where the regional takes place and for that reason is viewed as a big one as early season tournaments go.
Chesterton used three freshmen in the five spots Saturday and showed that not only does the future look bright, but the present has the Trojans playing well earlier than most would have had any reason to expect.
As usual, junior Jake Bobin’s big offseason improvement ranked as the top reason for that. Despite losing a few strokes to par in the final holes, Bobin carded a 3-over 75 at the challenging course and consistently has been in the 70s all season.
When a golfer not having his best day striking the ball and lipping out multiple putts still cards a strong score, that can only be viewed as a good sign.
Strike the ball well, Jake?
“No, actually, no,” Bobin said. “I was scrambling the entire round. I forgot how to hit an iron.”
Yet, he hovered around par for the round most of the day. Bobin’s high expectations for himself are realistic, based on results, not on shoulda, woulda, couldas. For example, he fired a 1-under 71 Monday playing a practice round at Sandy. In the past, he considered it a course that always seemed to find a way to get the best of him. After those two rounds, surely he has taken it off his list of beasts, right?
“No, I’ll keep it as a beast,” he said. “It’s going to take some practice. It’s a tough course.”
The greens and cups, he said, make it a particularly difficult course.
“The putts always lip out,” he said.
One way to deal with that is to not have to putt, which is what he did on No. 5, chipping in from next to a creek to make par.
Chilly in DeMotte at the start, things warmed up, making it a nice day to play, even though at times the wind blew with a touch too much gusto to make the conditions ideal.
Since weather factors vary from year to year, scoring comparisons don’t translate 100% accurately, but there is no disputing the fact that despite their youth, these Trojans make a stronger team than a year ago’s version, when the team score was 353.
This season, the top four scores added up to 334, an improvement of 19 strokes. In addition to Bobin’s 75, freshman Zac Racette and senior Drew Pacilio shot 85s and freshman Massimo Popa carded an 89. A team’s fifth-best score does not count toward the team tally. Coach Marc Bruner has tried several players at the No. 5 spot. Freshman Dylan Duffy was the fifth Saturday and shot a 97.
All discussions of the team’s forward leap start with Bobin, but don’t end there.
“A lot of it is just maturity,” Chesterton coach Marc Bruner said. “He started the game late. It’s not like he’s been doing it his whole life. Watching him play and talking to him about the game, you would think he has, but he hasn’t.”
Bruner spends most of his time walking the course with younger players, not wanting to fix what isn’t broken and knowing how well Bobin figures things out on his own. Bobin’s freshman season was his first exposure to competitive golf, and he has made up for not starting earlier by going all in.
He said he went to Matt Blair Golf Studio in LaPorte, “five hours a day, every day. That definitely got me better.”
Practicing golf for five hours doesn’t get boring?
“No,” Bobin said. “It’s fun.”
Senior Drew Pacilio’s improvement has helped the cause as well. And then there is the freshman class. Ten freshmen are on the roster.
Freshmen led the way in the other tournament Chesterton played on Saturday, the Plymouth JV Invitational at Pretty Lake.
Liam Henley finished in eighth place and led the team with an 86. Fellow freshman Miles Mulchay carded an 89. Tyler Racette shot a 94 and fellow junior Brady Stephan came in at 97.
Chesterton resumes its schedule Monday at Sand Creek vs. LaPorte and Plymouth. Pacilio, Drew Barich and Luke Robertson will be honored in senior day ceremonies.