With state tournament canceled, Althoff senior looks ahead to college golf career
Avery Irwin has enjoyed many great days on the golf course during a splendid four year high school career as a member of the Althoff Crusaders.
Now in his third year as Althoff’s top player, Irwin 17, already has picked up a win at the South Seven Conference Preview Tournament and shared medalist honors at the Goalby-Haas Invitational at St. Clair Country Club in Belleville in the first three events of his senior season.
Thanks to a tireless work ethic which helped him win six tournament championships as a junior in 2019, the bad days on the golf course have been few and far between.
But there have been a few, like Aug. 25, Irwin would like to forget.
After “not playing great” in a narrow loss against perennial IHSA Class 3A state power Edwardsville in a match at Stonewolf Golf Club, Irwin’s day went from bad to awful when it was announced, because of COVID-19, the Illinois High School Association was canceling sectional and state postseason competition for its 2020-21 fall sports and instead will be conducting competitions for schools within its COVID-19 regions.
With designs on an individual Class 1A state title and helping the Crusaders qualify as a team, the realization the dream was over was a crushing blow to Irwin and the Crusaders golf family.
“I was already kind of down because we lost the match and I didn’t play great,” Irwin said. “Plus, earlier in the day, I had heard from one of the college coaches I had been talking to who told me they were going a different way so after I heard the state tournament series had been canceled, I just lost it. I went straight home.
“It was just a bad day. With what happened last year, I just really wanted a chance to win it (state) and to go up to state with all these guys (teammates) who I’m really good friends with. To not even have a chance really stinks.”
A three-time all-South Seven Conference and two-time reigning Metro East Golf Coaches Association Player of the Year, Irwin has grown up on a golf course.
The youngest of Bill and Beth Irwin’s three children, Avery Irwin will join sisters, Abigail and Alaina, as family members who have played college golf after he graduates from Althoff next May.
Irwin has drawn interest from and is being recruited by several NCAA Division I programs including Valparaiso, Western Illinois, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay, Minnesota and Boston College. But before he tees up for his first college event next fall, Irwin realizes he still has work to do as he makes the most of the final two months of his Crusaders career.
A second place finish and strong summer
Avery Irwin was simply one of the best players in the state during the ‘19 season in any class. While finishing with a 9 hole average of 35 and a 73.1 average for 18 holes, Irwin was even better in the early stages of the postseason.
After shooting a 72 to win the South Seven Conference title, Irwin won the Class 1A regional crown with a 69 then shot 68 to place second at sectionals. Considered one of the favorites to win the Class 1A state finals held at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington, Irwin ended his opening round with a quadruple bogey 8 on his 18th hole to finish with a 78.
A second straight 78 in round 2 gave Irwin a score of 156 and a 16th place finish. Althoff also finished second in the team competition, one stroke behind local rival Mater Dei.
“I started out 3-over after three holes, had it back to 2-over 17 then made the quad on 18. I just didn’t play well the second day. It was very disappointing,” Irwin said. “I think maybe the pressure got to me. Just knowing what was on the line, wanting to win the state tournament and help our team win. It was just tough for me. I didn’t handle it well.”
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Irwin continued to work on his game this past spring and summer while gaining the attention of college golf coaches. His schedule included playing events in Atlanta as well throughout Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Irwin also played in qualifiers for four American Junior Golf Association national events.
Making the field in three of the four tournaments, Irwin’s top finish came at the D.A. Points Junior Championship where he shot rounds of 76, 76 and 69 to tie for 10th place. But for Irwin, the true benefit of playing national events is matching his ability against the best junior players in the nation.
“I didn’t have any wins, but I played well and was up there a lot,” Irwin said. “It was a great experience. I’m playing with all these great players and the yardage is way back. It’s basically like playing in a college tournament.
“When I come out here now and play in a high school event ... it’s just easier and I’m able to control myself better.”
Lots of support and great coaching
Aside from the benefits of growing up with the Orchards Golf Course a matter of steps away from his backyard, Irwin has worked with many of the top PGA teaching professionals in the St. Louis area including Althoff golf coach Dan Polites, Don Hawkins at Stonewolf and Brian Fogt at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. Irwin is currently working with Fogt.
But perhaps nobody has seen Irwin’s development as a player more than Polites, who has watched his top player become one of the best in the state.
“Players like Avery don’t come around very often. One of the things I always tell my players is to always give 100 percent and that’s one thing I have never worried about with him. He grinds it out,” Polites said. “If he gets off to a slow start or has a bad hole, he doesn’t let it get to him. He keeps his focus and is able to get it back in with a good score. He’s done that already this year.
“He’s a very mature young man. Whatever college he chooses is going to be glad they have him.”
Irwin said his success as a player couldn’t have been achieved without the support of his parents.
“I’ve grown up on a golf course ... whenever I’ve needed a golf club, they’ve gotten it. They’ve taken me places to play, watched me play and been there to help and support me. I really couldn’t have asked for any more.,” Irwin said of his parents.
“A lot of kids’ parents push, sometimes too hard. Mine have never done that. They are there for help and support, but they also know when to leave me alone. Like when I’m on the practice greens or warming up on the range ... they won’t talk to me. After three kids — all golfers — they know.”
Trying to stay motivated
The 2020 golf season will continue through September and October with the regional tournament within the specified COVID-19 area slated for Oct. 24.
Irwin said with the state tournament series no longer a possibility in 2020, he has to find other forms of motivation. One of his goals is to finish with an 18 hole average of under 70.
“Right now it’s about 71 so I’m right there,” Irwin said. “Obviously it’s hard to keep going without that end goal to look forward to, but I still have college to look ahead to.
“It’s going to be a little harder to stay motivated., but I’m still going to work hard and do whatever I can to make sure we have success as a team.”
