Independence senior Mark Pillar locked up a third straight trip to the state golf tournament by winning the Division III Tannenhauf District title on Thursday.
Pillar carded a 75 to tie for first place and then beat Warren JFK’s Bryce Van Horn in a playoff to win the district championship.
“Obviously, it feels great to be a district champ,” Pillar said. “I would’ve liked it more if the team was coming with me (to state), but I’ll try to just do my best and do it for the team.”
Pillar will make his third straight trip to the state tournament after placing fourth last fall and tied for 28th as a sophomore.
He shot a 38 on the front 9 at Tannenhauf and closed out his tournament with 37 on the back.
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Van Horn shot a 40 on the front and a 35 on the back to force the playoff. Pillar birdied the playoff hole while Van Horn scored par.
“Surprisingly, the playoff didn’t add much stress,” Pillar said. “At that point, I knew I was going to states and was just relieved that I made it. Even though it didn’t add pressure, it was still an amazing feeling to win. I was just trying to have fun. I didn’t put any pressure on myself, which made it easier for me to compete.”
Pillar will compete at the state tournament on Oct. 13 and 14 at Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course.
“My goal is to win,” he said. “Obviously, there will be many tricky holes at Scarlet but I will have to attack the holes that aren’t too difficult.”
Independence’s Kaden Schuette shot an 82 to place 12th, Johnny Walsh finished 38th with a 93, Landon Eichler placed 43rd with a 96, and Josh Peters finished 53rd with a 108.
The Blue Devils placed sixth as a team.
Cardinal finished seventh with Troy Domen leading the way with an 80, good for a seventh-place tie. Matthew Hissa shot an 86 to place 24th, Evan Jones was 35th with a 92, Austin Jones shot a 100 to place 46th, and Reese Soltis carded a 105 to finish 49th.
