Wheatley's Jojo Dolezal wins Nassau boys golf individual title for second time

The Nassau County boys golf individual title will not be changing hands this year.

Wheatley senior Jojo Dolezal gave the Bethpage Red Course an encore performance on Wednesday as he defended the championship he won last year and did it again in dominant fashion.

Dolezal entered the day in the lead after posting a five-under 67 on the Bethpage Blue Course on Tuesday, and he did not squander his opportunity, as he shot a two-under 69 on the Red Course to lock down his second title.

As the defending champion and favorite to repeat entering Wednesday, Dolezal felt a tad of pressure. Rather than succumb, he welcomed the slight anxiety with grace to help himself get the job done.

“It creeps in the back of your head a little bit to not do the worst thing possible when you go out there, but it was a lot of fun,” Dolezal. “I kind of like pressure sometimes because it makes me dig in a little bit more. It was a lot of fun.”

When Dolezal won his first title a year ago, he also clinched it with a big performance on the same course. That familiarity gave the St. John’s commit some confidence going into Wednesday’s match.

“I guess the experience helped from last year,” Dolezal said. “I was a lot better on the second day this time around; I was a lot more nervous last year.”

It was not all smooth-sailing, as Dolezal struggled with his driving. However, his approach shots and clutch putting  helped him stay ahead of  the pack as he finished as the only one under par across the two days.

This second Nassau championship  meant just a little bit more to Dolezal.

“I’d probably say the second one meant more,” Dolezal said. “It just shows that I can do it again. It was good to do it in my senior year, obviously. It was my last time playing, so that means a lot. It was a lot of fun to just be with my team and do this.”

 Manhasset won  the Nassau team championship by two strokes over Friends Academy, finishing with a 754 total over the Tuesday and Wednesday rounds. Manhasset junior Evan Fulgieri assured the victory with his par on the 18th hole. 

Manhasset coach Mike Tarnowski was thrilled after his team eked out the championship.

“It’s very exciting,” Tarnowski said. “These boys have worked so hard since March. It was a goal that we had in mind throughout the whole year and I’m just happy to get it done; I’m proud of these boys.”

Dolezal and Fulgieri qualified for states, as did Syosset’s Dylan Tong, Jericho’s Bryan Zhao and Garden City’s Phil Connolly. Friends Academy will send three players: Jack Estrella, Charles Nevin and Akash Agarwal. Manhasset’s Alex Gore won a four-way tiebreaker playoff to earn the ninth and final qualification for states.