The REPORTER
Four Hamilton County golfers finished in the top 10 at the PGA Indiana Open Championship, a three-day tournament which finished up Wednesday at Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame.
Nick Dentino, a Carmel graduate now playing at Purdue University, finished the highest of the county men, tying for fourth place with a four-under par 209. Dentino went under par in all three of his rounds, carding a one-under 70 on Monday and Tuesday and a two-under 69 in the final round Wednesday. He made five birdies in each round for a total of 15.
Dentino won the 2019 IHSAA individual state championship, and also helped the Greyhounds to the team state title. He just finished his senior year for the Boilermakers, but he is eligible for a COVID year and will return for a fifth season next year. Dentino had two top 10 finishes for Purdue this season, including four birdies in a row at the Boilermaker Invitational to lead his team to a one-stroke win for the team title.
Three more county golfers were part of a five-way tie for sixth place: Recent Guerin Catholic graduate Jacob Modleski, Pebble Brook representative Eric Steger, and Fishers’ Graham McAree, a 2014 Hamilton Southeastern graduate. All of them finished with three-under par 210s.
Modleski, who will soon be starting school at Notre Dame, finished 69-72-69=210, three-under par. His tournament contained 10 birdies, as he made four in the first and third rounds and two in the middle round.
Steger was a former winner of the Indiana Open, claiming the title in 2020. He went 68-72-70=210 for this year’s tournament. Steger made nine birdies in the tournament and also drained a pair of eagles on hole No. 10, once in the first round, and again in the third round. Steger went to Noblesville High School and was a star for Ball State, graduating in 2011.
McAree, a 2018 graduate of the University of Indianapolis, finished the tournament 69-69-72=210. McAree’s round contained 10 birdies, and he also made an eagle, draining that one during his first round on the 17th hole.
Three players had rounds of five-under 66 during the tournament, including Vince Drahman, a Noblesville graduate. Drahman carded his 66 in the third round, making seven birdies. He had 12 for the tournament, and also eagled the 10th hole in the first round.
A list of Hamilton County finishers now follows.
T4. Nick Dentino, Carmel 68-72-69=209, T6. Jacob Modleski, Noblesville 69-72-69=210; Eric Steger, Pebble Brook 68-72-70=210; Graham McAree, Fishers 69-69-72=210, T11. Andy Winings, Fishers 70-70-71=211, T17. Cole Starnes, Fishers 70-71-72=213; Gary Robinson, Crooked Stick 68-72-73=213, T22. Alec Cesare, Westfield 73-72-69=214, T26. Vince Drahman, Fortville 75-74-66=215, T39. Connor McNeely, Noblesville 73-73-72=218, T44. Sam Booth, Carmel 76-69-74=219, T47. Luke Prall, Carmel 74-71-75=220; Drew Shafer, Noblesville 77-73-70=220, T66. Lucas Beck, Carmel 74-76-74=224, T68. Connor McMillan, Fishers 73-76-76=225, 71. Clay Stirsman, Carmel 74-73-79=226.