SHELBY, Ohio — Brock Kehres is trending in the right direction.
A junior at Shelby, Kehres has played his best golf of the season what it has mattered the most. He was the medalist runner-up at the Northern Ohio League Tournament, the medalist at the Division II sectional at Sawmill Creek and the medalist runner-up at last week’s district at Red Hawk Run, earning a spot in this week’s state tournament.
Two more good rounds at NorthStar Golf Club in Sunbury, site of the the Division II state tournament, and Kehres could find himself at the podium. He tees off at 9:58 a.m. Friday.
“It’s definitely a dream come true to be playing in the state tournament. At the beginning of the year I said my goal was to make it to state,” Kehres said during a practice round Wednesday at the Shelby Country Club. “It’s a dream that has been achieved, but there is still some work to do. I’m hoping to get the job done when I go down this weekend.”
Kehres’ hot streak started when he shot a 74 at the NOL tournament. He followed that up with a 79 in brutal conditions at Sawmill Creek in Huron, then fired a 76 at Red Hawk Run in Findlay, winning a three-hole playoff for runner-up honors.
“He has been playing well recently,” Shelby boys coach Justin Schroeder said last week. “We’re exciting for Brock and I know he is excited to be headed to state.”
Kehres is the first Shelby boys player to qualify for state since Tyler Korbas in 2009, who shot a two-day total of 176 at NorthStar. Kehres failed to make it out of the sectional as a sophomore.
“My mental game has been a lot stronger this year. That has helped tremendously,” Kehres said. “A guy who is mentally strong is tough to beat.”
Mental toughness will be the order of the weekend as playing conditions aren’t expected to be favorable. Friday’s forecast calls for rain and morning temperatures in the lower-40s. The mercury is expected to dip into the lower-30s Friday night and into Saturday morning.
So what will it take to get onto the podium?
“I’m not going to put a number on it because it could be anything with the weather,” Kehres said. “It’s going to take someone who is not going to let one shot or one hole affect how they play the rest of the tournament. The person who is mentally strongest is the one who will come out on top.”
