A rare shaky performance at the Northern Region tournament by Chantilly senior Jake An gave way to yet another brilliant final round. At this point, there is no reason to expect anything less.
The defending region champion, who hit just three fairways in regulation during Tuesday’s opening round at Fairfax National Golf Club, shook off that effort with a eight-under-par 64 on Wednesday to win his second region title andlead Chantilly to the team championship as well.
The Chargers, who overcame a 10-shot deficit to Concorde District rival Westfield, advanced to next week’s Group AAA state tournament with a two-day total of 592. Westfield, led by sophomore Tim Ritter’s 144 (74-70), joins them after placing second at 598.
“There was no pressure, to be honest,” said An, who stayed in contention by knocking down key putts Tuesday en route to a even-par 72 and caught fire on the back nine Wednesday. “I don’t even pay attention to my score when I’m playing that well. It’s still just one shot at a time, put it in the fairway and hit your putt.”
An birdied six of the first seven holes on the back nine to take control of the tournament. He finished with nine birdies on the day. Senior Gabe Lainez, the region champion two years ago, and freshman Ji Soo Park both finished at 152 (78-74) for Chantilly. An has won three district titles and two region titles, in three years of high school golf. He tries for his first state championship beginning Tuesday at Dominion Valley Country Club in Haymarket.
