Hart boys golf’s Jess Scheller was two strokes away from being the medalist at the CIF-Southern Section Individual Regional tournament on Monday.
Although his 3-under 69 outcome was exciting, Scheller described his play in one word: boring.
“It was pretty boring, solid play,” the senior said.
Scheller had six birdies on the afternoon: Three were two-putts on par 5s, two were six-foot putts and one was a 15-foot putt. Steady, consistent play helped him to make the cut to move on to the CIF-SS Individual Finals as one of the top 20 players in the regional event.
It’s his first time making it to the second round in his prep golf career. In his junior campaign, he was one shot away from making the cut.
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In previous seasons, Scheller had outside tournaments to play and wasn’t always completely focused on high school golf. This time around, school and show choir obligations have limited his tournament play, which made him appreciate prep golf all the more.
“This year I haven’t played that many tournaments, so I think I was just more focused on playing well for this and that’s probably why I played better as compared to last year’s performance,” Scheller said.
Scheller, who was medalist in the final Foothill League meet of the season, is also the only golfer from the Foothill League to move on in individual play. The Indians’ Art Thompson shot 1-over, West Ranch’s Jack Dudeck was 2-over and fellow Wildcat and Foothill League individual champion Gunnar Murray was 3-over.
However, all of the above golfers still have the CIF-SS Division Team Championships to work towards.
“We want to try and do well in that, leave a mark. Last year, last go at it,” Scheller said. “I think we can do it honestly for our team. I feel pretty confident if Art and I play like we can. If we both shoot in the 60s I think we have a good chance as a team.”
Hart, West Ranch and Saugus will all be playing in the team tournament, which will take place on May 14 and May 15. The top two teams from each division will advance to the CIF-SS SCGA Team Qualifier.
Scheller will continue his postseason play in the CIF-SS Individual Finals on May 17. He’ll need to finish in the top 28 to move on to the next round.
