On April 13th, golfers from 24 different schools were in attendance at the 14th annual Tom Dolan Memorial Invitational. The tournament, which is held at the Everett Golf and Country Club, was cut short due to rain for the first time in the history of the invitational. Instead of playing the typical 18 holes, like standard courses, it was cut in half and a winner was decided after 9 holes. Austin Faux, a junior at Arlington, played the weather and shortening of the tournament to his advantage, and took home the win in the pouring down rain.

Faux had a lot to say when asked about the tournament. “It’s definitely one of the more prestigious tournaments of the year. I really wanted that one because I feel like I haven’t really shown my talent as consistently this season” said Faux. When it comes to any sporting competition, nerves always play into a players performance. Despite the prestige Dolan brings with it, Faux kept his cool. A shaky start to the first whole left the Arlington golfer in need of a great recovery. Faux launched a 150 yard shot from the fairway on his third shot, which fell just two feet away from the hole. Faux tapped in the putt to make par on his first hole. “I was confident in my game heading in, but at the same time I was nervous. It’s a big tournament and I didn’t want to screw up” said Faux.

As the tournament progressed, Faux continued to stay dominant. He parred on his second hole and birdied the next, leaving him one under. His final six holes of the tournament were automatic. He parred the rest of the course and was named the victor after the rain started to dump. “After it got cut short, I was kind of sad, but the temperature had dropped a ton and I was freezing, so the win and getting out of the cold felt awesome” said Faux when asked about his thoughts on the rain. “When I tried to write my signature on the scorecard, my hand was too cold for me to grip the pen” added Faux.

Despite the shortening of the tournament, Faux’s confidence in his abilities to keep the lead for the remainder of the course were high. “I was on my game. I was sinking putts and making par consistently. With the momentum, I think I still would have taken it” said Faux. The confidence of the young Arlington golfer foreshadows some great results in the remainder of the year and in his last season next year as a senior.
Faux has another year of golf to go, which he looks at as his year to really shine. “Dolan was a big win. Almost every winner at Dolan has gone on to play in college and I plan to keep that tradition” said Faux. The junior’s outlook for his future as a golfer is extremely positive. Some high school athletes look at sports as something that ends when they graduate, but with districts and state still ahead of him in his junior year, Faux is doing something that gives him a reason to work even harder. He is looking forward. “I feel like I have the skills this year to place in state” said Faux. He continued with a sentence that leaves his senior year looking bright. “Senior year I’m going for the title.” The future for Arlington golf looks strong.