'I was in a zone': Happy Gilmore, South golfers have record-setting day at Cascades

It was Happy's hour at Cascades Golf Course.

Happy Gilmore, the Bloomington South senior, just knew that if he could get his putter clicking on the same day as the rest of his game he could do something great. Thursday was that day and Cascades, still a bit soaked forcing South and North to play lift, clean and replace, never stood a chance.

Gilmore circled the Quarry and Pine layouts in a career-best 61, 10 shots under par and six better than his next-best competitive round. He finished the Quarry in a seven under 28. It led to perhaps the best score in school history, a 278, better than the 282 the Panthers shot during the Conference Indiana meet in 2017 at Winding Way.

"I knew the Quarry was gettable and if I played good I'd have a chance at being a few under," Gilmore said Friday before heading out for a practice round at the Players Club as South prepared to play in Saturday's Muncie Central Invitational. "I definitely didn't expect to be seven-under on the front.

"I didn't really pay attention to it at first until I realized I was on 9 and had made six birdies in a row."

Essentially, nothing but fairways with his drive, wedges to the green and sink the putt and on to the next.

"I was just in a zone," the Ball State signee said. An eagle on 12 to get to 10 under really caught his attention. 'Hey, I could shoot a 59.' Now, the challenge was to not let it get in his head. He's obviously been in similar situations, holding a lead late in the final round of big tournaments or in a match play situation.

"I've just developed a routine so it's just making sure I stick to it," Gilmore said. "And I walk a little slower and do everything a little bit slower.

"The pressure and the nerves, it's not quite the same experience. It's a little different when you're winning a tournament or being in the lead. I knew how to keep that going so I just had to keep to my game plan."

Paired up with teammate Connor Byon and North's Grant McCrea, Gilmore kept things as light and normal as possible. He didn't want the silent treatment that pitchers get late into no-hitters.

"Connor probably knew what was going on more than I did," Gilmore said. "He was also just as excited but he was leaving me alone to let me do my thing. It's just a round of golf with one of my best friends. We still talked and let the game happen."

His game knows Cascades well enough to know where his drives needed to be. Thursday, just about everyone was showing up in the right spot, save for a miss-hit drive on 16 that he still made up and down from 50 yards out. He also had a bad drive that found rough on the par 5 14th, but still had a chance to get on in two.

In all, he carded nine birdies and an eagle on 12.

"It was my putter, straight up," Gilmore said. "I've struggled on the greens most of the season. I told myself if I have a day where I hit the ball well and I should be able to shoot a low number. My ball striking has been good, but my putting has been some of the worst."

Because they didn't play the ball down, his scores are not eligible to be considered course records. Still, it was a fun to experience and social media and his phone lit up as word spread. One wag suggested he was celebrating the green-lighting of a new Adam Sandler movie, 'Happy Gilmore 2.'

"I got a lot of phone calls and texts from my buddies all over the country," Gilmore said. "(Ball State coach Mike) Fleck called. My swing coach texted. I've seen a couple things on Twitter (X), but I haven't paid attention. I had to get up and go to school the next day, so I haven't had time to check it out."

Golf is humbling and each round is unique. Gilmore is already thinking about his next swing.

"The hardest round is one after you shoot really well," he said. "I hope I can use this practice round to get the yips out."