On a windy Thursday afternoon, all DVC boys golf teams took part in the yearly conference championship. Naperville North put on a strong round to claim the title for a second straight season.
The DVC boys golf championship tees off on a windy Thursday at Blackberry Oaks. Naperville North comes in as defending champs, in search of a repeat after going 5-0 in the DVC regular season. The rest of their conference foes hope to dethrone the Huskies while searching for low scores with regionals next week. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
We start on hole four with Kyle Cushing from Neuqua hitting a downhill birdie that goes in the right direction and into the bottom of the cup.
You want another birdie? Waubonsie veteran Avi Khanduja has you covered as he sinks the putt on the par-five 7th hole.
Naperville North’s Henry Haumesser is enjoying a beach day, but he gets out of it by giving his swing a good one, putting his bunker shot in range of the pin.
Teammate Colin Mills shoots the Huskies’ lowest score at 70 thanks in large part to his short game with chips around the green.
Waubonsie golfers hitting one under
Hole 7 is a favorite to many golfers, including Warrior Arnav Nanda, who is in birdie mode on the putt, and he sinks it.
Aanish Kamdar, come on down; you are the next contestant to sink another birdie. One of three birdies on the round for the Warrior.
While it’s not a birdie, Naperville Central’s Graeme Cavanagh still gets a favorable chip to sit on the putting green to help the senior’s scorecard.
We move to hole 10. Khanduja sends his fairway shot to the green, takes the par, and golfs an impressive round of 68, but will that be enough to take the individual title?
Back to our birdie party with Christian Hay from Naperville Central on the attempt. It’s a long putt, but the ball slows down but has enough juice to find its home. Hay is fired up going one under on this green.
Naperville North depth on display
Haumesser follows up a great tee shot by swinging his second shot within feet of the cup for a birdie chance. The bird is the word for the Huskie senior as he drills the putt.
The Huskies continue to display their depth as Lincoln Schultz sends a good shot to the landing zone and takes the par.
Then Noah Redmond takes on a challenging par-three 15th hole. His tee shot does hit the green but rolls far from the cup. However, he gets a favorable lag on the next putt and finishes the job with a birdie on his third shot.
On hole 17, Connor Rodebaugh from Neuqua recovers from a rocky tee shot as his second shot finds the green. That leads to a par. While his sights were set higher, Rodebaugh is still one of three Wildcats to shoot in the 70s.
Kaiden Shah from Metea shoots the Mustangs ‘ second-lowest round at 80, and this approach helps the cause.
Graeme Cavanagh vs. Avi Khanduja for the top spot
Team scores are official, but the individual medal is up for grabs as Cavanagh and Khanduja got to a playoff for the individual conference title. On the first playoff hole, Cavanagh puts the pressure on Khanduja with a par, but Khanduja keeps his cool and answers back.
So let’s go to the next hole. This time it’s Khanduja’s turn to put the pressure on. Despite not making the long birdie, Khanduja still has breathing room via par. Cavanagh needs to sink this par to keep, but he leaves the putt short, and Avi Khanduja is your DVC individual champion in his final conference tournament.
Naperville North takes a second straight DVC title
On the team scoreboard, “Hey Now” indeed because it’s Naperville North taking home the boys golf DVC title for a second straight season after a team round of 290. Waubonsie Valley is five strokes back in second with a 295, and Neuqua Valley is third at 298.
For more prep sports highlights and community sports, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram!