Sophomore golfer Alli Wiertel has game.
Wiertel, who competes for the Oswego co-op team, plays like the main character from a Nike ad.
“She’s by far, and I mean by far, the most impressive individual I’ve dealt with working here,” said John Platt, veteran director of instruction at Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville.
“This is the sixth person I’ve worked with who has won a state championship. There’s just something about Alli. She just has ‘it’ and she has it big time. And she’s a great kid.”
High praise for the 16-year-old Wiertel, who started her season on a high note in August by shooting a course-record 59 at Whitetail Ridge in Yorkville.
She capped things two weeks ago, shooting an 8-under-par 136 over two days and setting two records in winning the Class 2A state title at Hickory Point outside Decatur.
Wiertel needed to shoot 3-under over the final two holes to get her 59.
“I wasn’t thinking about it until the end of the round,” she said. “I was just trying to make as many birdies as I could and having fun with it.”
She finished with an eagle and a birdie.
At the state meet, Wiertel trailed by two strokes after shooting a 1-under 71 in the first round. She followed with a record 7-under 65 the second day, giving her a tournament-record two-day total.
Platt, Providence’s boys golf coach for the past 24 years, is one of three Mistwood instructors who have worked at various times with Wiertel during the winter in their committed athlete program.
A family friend who knows the game helped Wiertel refine her swing, but she praised her father, Jason, who introduced her to the sport at age 4.
“He will always be my coach,” Alli said. “He always sees things. One of my strengths is my mental game, and he’s really good at that.”
Both of her parents were college athletes at Carthage.
Jason Wiertel played baseball and was a three-time NCAA Division III All-American in basketball. His wife, Sarah, played volleyball. Their 14-year-old daughter, Gracie, plays volleyball for Sports Performance.
Their 11-year-old daughter, Lucy, also golfs and recently qualified for the second time for the Drive, Chip and Putt national finals for junior players next spring at Augusta National.
The most impressive thing about Alli, however, is her work ethic, according to Platt.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “Her summertime schedule is unbelievable with all her tournaments, so the high school season is kind of like a break for her.”
Some break.
“I’m usually out here with my team until 5:30,” Platt said. “Alli will practice with her team and then come walking up here to practice at 5:30, sometimes with little sister with her.
“She’s out here doing drill after drill after drill. Two days after state, she was back out here. It’s almost like a job to her.”
Wiertel said she started taking golf seriously at 12, inspired by a trip to Clemson for a podcast.
“We had a golfer from the men’s and women’s teams as guests,” she said. “We went to a baseball game and saw all the facilities. I was like, ‘Wow, I want to go to college and play golf at this level.’”
She has done well at some high-profile summer events, making the cut after two rounds last year at the Women’s Western Junior and advancing to match play. She won her first match and lost the second in a 20-hole bout.
“The courses are more difficult and longer than high school golf,” she said. “But I know the work I’ve put in.”
Platt is one of many who has noticed.
“She tweaks things a lot, maybe sometimes too much, but that’s what great players do,” he said. “Her ball striking is solid and putting is so good. When she’s hitting on the range, it just has that sound ¯ special.
“She’s a rock star, man. There’s no doubt about it.”