RallyNorth.net

Many golfers go a lifetime without shooting a hole-in-one. Tyler Nelson, obviously, isn’t most golfers. The Central Catholic senior yesterday fired his second ace in two weeks and third in the last 15 months. Nelson’s ace on the 138-yard 17th hole at the Black Swan Country Club in Georgetown helped him finish fourth at the Division 1 State Golf championship. He finished one stroke back with a 73. “I was using a pitching wedge,” explained Nelson, last year’s Eagle-Tribune MVP in basketball. “It took a hop and went past the hole and spun in. I saw it go in. I was just shocked.” So was Raider assistant Pete Desjardins. “He was shocked when I got the second one,” said the Fairfield basketball recruit. “He’s never had one and he’s been playing forever.” Sometimes it seems like Nelson has been playing forever, too. “I live on Bradford Country Club,” he said. “I’ve been playing since I was 6 or 7. I compete in everything I do.” This may have been his last competitive round of golf. Or at least the last for several years. “Golf’s a hobby,” he said. “But I’ll definitely still play. I can definitely see myself playing golf for the rest of my life.”

Duke recruit Jake Shulman of Needham won a three-way playoff with a birdie on the second hole to repeat as Division 1 state champ. He beat Matt Organisak of Lincoln-Sudbury and Jon DiLisio of St. John’s Prep. The Prep won the team title on a tie-breaker (No. 5 golfer). The Eagles and Xaverian both shot 312 through their top four. Central placed fourth in the Division 1 team standings with a 317. Nelson was backed by Pat Silk (74), Mark Mancini (84) and Kyle Dunn (86). At Division 2 States, North Andover placed fifth with a 328 led by Justin Myerson with a 77 and Sam Caron with an 82. Concord-Carlisle (303) captured the title and Masconomet’s won the individual title with a 73.

Andover's golf team kept its playoff hopes alive by stunning Central Catholic 12 1/2-7 1/2. Medalist Brett Krekorian won at No. 1, shooting a 36 to defeat Central ace Tyler Nelson, while Nick Scarpa win his match with a 37.

With the match tied at the last pairing, Central Catholic's John Keenan came up huge, shooting a 39 to lead the Raiders to a narrow three-shot victory over St. John's.