West Frankfort, Ill. -  Connor Watson (East Peoria HS) won his first collegiate tournament in record-breaking fashion as he led the Illinois Central College men's golf team to the Warrior 36 Title at the Franklin County Country Club on Monday.

Watson's afternoon round of 63 broke the ICC men' golf single round record, which previously belonged to All-American teammate Trey Boecker. Boecker's record of 64 was set three weeks ago at the Highland 36; he still owns the two-round tourney record of 133. 

"Connor was spectacular," coach Sean Kennedy said, "and it was a terrific day for the Cougars. To get an 18-shot win over two teams (Mineral Area CC & Vincennes) who will be ranked in the Top 20 when the first polls come out is impressive. I watched seven mentally tough Cougars grind for 36 holes under relentless heat and am very proud of their toughness."

Boecker also played well on Monday, finishing third overall with a 71 and 69. Brooks Cluver also finished in the Top 10 with a 6th place finish of 146.

Despite ten hours of walking 36 holes in the grueling 95 degree heat, the Cougars got better as the day wore on. The team shot a six-over par for the morning 18 holes, good for a 6-shot lead. In the afternoon, the team got as hot as the weather as they sizzled with a team 3-under par 281 to pull away from the field for the comfortable 18-shot victory. 
 
The team will spend the next couple of days in an air-conditioned study area for a couple days and then start getting ready for next week's Sauk Valley SkyHawk Classic.
 
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
Connor Watson | 71 / 63  134
Trey Boecker |    71 / 69 /  140
Brooks Cluver |   72 / 74 / 146
Logan Smith |      73 / 77 / 150
Alex Kuykendall | 76 / 75 / 151
Andrew Kuykendall | 71 / 80 / 151
Drake Kaufman | 77 / 75 / 152
 
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Sept. 25 (1pm) & Sept. 26 (9am)
at Skyhawk Classic
Deer Valley Golf Club
Deer Grove, IL