When Owensboro Catholic’s Jakob Wellman steps on the course today at Bowling Green Country Club, it’ll be the fourth-straight year the Ace standout will be representing his school at the KHSAA State Boys’ Golf Tournament.
Wellman tees off at 12:30 p.m. from the No. 10 tee with Muhlenberg County’s Nolan Nofsinger, Barren County’s Jameson Corbin and Bethlehem’s Xander Tucket.
The Catholic junior played his practice round Monday at BGCC and said he felt good going into Tuesday.
“I was swinging confident all day,” he said. “Pumped up, ready to get things going. I feel pretty confident, to be honest. I just feel ready.”
Wellman finished fifth overall last week after carding an 80 at the 2nd Region Tournament at Hopkinsville Golf & Country Club.
He said this week was all about fine tuning everything.
“I just really worked on tightening everything up,” he said. “Trying to make sure I limit the mistakes. Here at state, it’s more about limiting the mistakes. Nobody is going to shoot 65-65 or go super low both days, it’s just whoever puts themselves in the best spot.”
Wellman is the only local golfer that’ll take the course today as he’s usually had a teammate or another area player to take the course with.
He said it’s his job to not only compete but make those around him proud.
“I don’t necessarily feel pressure, I just feel like I need to do that,” he said. “I feel like it’s almost like an obligation. I feel like I’m supposed to be here and I’m not just supposed to make the cut or just finish, I’m there to compete, I’m there to win so I definitely feel more determined than pressure but I’m definitely excited for it and pretty anxious to get out there.”
Wellman will have one familiar face playing with him as Mustang standout Nofsinger will also be on the tee.
“It’ll help me get settled in really early, which will be good,” he said of playing with Nofsinger. “We’re pretty close friends. He’s a really nice kid.”
When Wellman hits the course today, he’ll do it with a swagger, a charisma he’s carried with him throughout his career.
He said it’s important to carry that the right way.
“It definitely helps me as far as having the confidence because if something doesn’t go your way, some other people could kind of notice that and take that into account,” he said. “You can’t let that happen.”
He said body language goes a long way and he wants to show his in the best way possible. Wellman added that some players have difficulty backing up their mentality in certain situations.
“It definitely matters that it’s real confidence and not fake confidence,” he said. “Some kids, they’ll walk up like they had the confidence but when the time comes to where they actually need to step up, they get freaked out. I definitely make sure I can back it up.”
Wellman said he’ll wake up early Tuesday and get in the right mindset as he heads down to BG.
“You definitely want to treat it as something different but not necessarily to an extent where you feel that pressure,” he said. “I’m definitely going to take it, as far as the preparation, a little bit more serious, a little bit more detailed. After that, it’s going out there and playing, executing and having a good time.”
