Eugene Dillon '15 Recruiting Profile

My name is Eugene Dillon (E.J. Dillon), I started golfing nearly 7 years ago and have worked hard and loved it ever since.  I've achieved my biggest goal and got noticed by a great college golf coach that likes my very competitive spirit and wants me to join their program to build or continue a winning program...so I'll be heading to Bridgewater College to play for Coach Williams!  This will be my next great opportunity to continue to hone my golf skills to a collegiate competitive level. At the same time, I still realize how important my college education will be toward to my lifetime success, so academics will be a top priority.  I know that I can achieve these goals by focusing on both the academic and athletic aspect of my college career!

TOP TOURNAMENT FINISHES:

Tournament Wins:

        MAPGA Capital Cup Shootout Qualifier (71)
        PJGT Club Glove Piedmont Classic @ Duke University (79-79)
        CAGT Callaway Jr. World Championship Qualifier (76-86)

Top 10 finishes:      

        MAPGA Reston National GC0 - 2nd place (80)
        MAPGA Ocean City Golf and Yacht - 2nd place (72)
        MAPGA The Bay Club - 3rd place (73)
        PJGT Herndon Centennial - 3rd place (76-81)
        MAPGA University of Maryland - 4th place (76)
        Veritas Junior World Championship Qualifier CAGT @ Worthington Manor (82-75)
        MAPGA Laytonsville Golf Classic - 6th place (80)
        MAPGA Junior Tour Championship @ Turf Valley - 6th place (76-80)
        MAPGA University of Maryland - 7th place (79)
        Bobby Bauers Stroke/Match Play Tournament Qualifier - 6th place (72)

BLOG & TOURNAMENT RESULTS:

11/16/14: Yesterday I got to play a fun social round with my dad's college friend at his country club called Keswick Hall Golf Club in Troy VA (near Charlottesville)...what a great course...a Pete Dye design that just opened a couple of months ago after a multi-year facelift. Challenging and perfect weather...I posted a 4-over 76 and thoroughly enjoyed the entire day. This is a great example of why I love this game! 

11/13/14: Last night at the NWHS Fall Sports Team Awards Night, I was honored in a couple of ways...first, my coach, Coach Flach, announced that our golf team voted for me to win the Jaguar Award for outstanding participation & and performance during this past season. 

10/29/14: I posted a 79 on day 1 of the MD State HS tournament burning too many edges on my putts.  But enjoyed a small bounce back on day 2 carding a 77 and moved up to a final place tie for 22nd. 

10/3/14: Big news all the way around from the last couple of weeks...First, I finished my senior year as the #1 position golfer on the NWHS team from start to finish!  Second, our team finished this season with our best record ever at 17-1!  Third, I rank a personal best 7th in Montgomery County with a scoring average of 37.33 overall (includes men's and women's).  Fourth, NWHS qualified as a team for the Maryland High School Tournament (I qualified all 4 years individually, but we never made it as a team until this season).  And, lastly for now...after recently updating my tournament rounds & scores, my handicap has dropped to 2.1 as of 10/1/14!   Game on!!!  

9/21/14: Over the past few weeks, my golf team has gone 14-1 in five matches.  I have shot a 40, 39, 37, 38, and 34 in all five matches.  I have one more match to work with, and I hope to go low once again!  On an academic note, I have been studying over the past few weeks for my upcoming SAT Test on October 11!

8/19/14: Continuing yesterdays tryouts, I shot a one under par 35 today to finalize my spot as the number one position golfer for the second year in a row! The team is looking very solid this year, and I have high hopes for Northwest Golf!

8/18/14: Today was the first day of the Northwest High School tryouts! Playing a nine hole match, I shot a one over par 37 and am in first place for the team so far. More to come tomorrow!

7/28/14: Sleep deprived because of the drive home from California and having no chance for a warm-up due to renovations at the course, I played in the MAPGA Capital Cup Shootout Qualifier at Kenwood Country Club shooting a 1 over par 71 to place first in the qualifier!  I'll be participating in the shootout at Congressional Country Club on August 6th!

7/8-7/27/14:  Played in the Callaway Junior World Championship and the Veritas World Junior Championship in San Diego, CA (Torrey Pines) and Orange County, CA (Tustin Ranch.)  Although I did not play anywhere near my normal, it was a huge learning experience for me and I am definitely better off for it!

6/29/14:  Took a lesson today with Keith Robertson and am feeling much more confident with my swing now.  I'm ready to take on these three days of tournament golf back to back to back this week!

6/28/14:  I received my report card in the mail today!  I feel as though I performed very well earning a 3.85 GPA for the fourth quarter and getting all A's and B's on my final exams!

6/19/14:  After a long spell of studying for exams and finishing out the school year, I finally got out to practice golf for the first time since before the week of June 7.

6/12/14:  Finally completed my junior year of high school!  After a very difficult year I managed to finish 4th quarter with 6 A's and 1 B.

5/25/14:  I received my new driver today: the Taylormade SLDR!  I am very exciter to begin working with it.  I know that it will improve my trajectory off of the teebox and reduce the copious amount of spin I place on the ball with my PING G15.

05/22/14:  Just looked at my tour standing on the CAGT...currently, I've moved up to 8th place overall on the CAGT tour leaderboard out of 65 registered 15-17 division...moved up 37 positions after the VA Junior Open and moved up 13 more positions after MD Junior Players Championship!  On the PJGT, I'm showing up in 16th position out of 307 players in the 14-19 division.

05/21/14  CAGT Maryland Junior Players Championship (Veritas World Junior Championship Qualifier) at Worthington Manor.  Moved up the leaderboard from 10th to 5th on Sunday shooting another bounce back 75.  Placing Top-5 helped to qualify for the Veritas World Junior Championship the week of July 20th. (http://www.veritasworldjunior.org/)  So I'll be playing in the Callaway Junior World Championship @ Torrey Pines & now hopefully the Veritas World Junior Championship in back-to-back weeks in July...hopefully we can work it out!

05/16/14:  Met with Roger Hatcher (PGA Master Fitter @ the 1757 Golf Club in Dulles VA) to have him re-check my driver. As it turns out, I have apparently been putting a ton of spin on the ball with my Ping G15 driver...giving up some distance and accuracy.  After testing many different driver and shaft combinations, we identified that a Taylormade SLDR will considerably help my Fairway Hit accuracy and even provide more distance at the same time.  We ordered it and I'm anxious to get it so I can add it to my bag!

05/12/14:  PJGT Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.  Mother Nature wasn't friendly on Saturday at Nemacolin, as cloudy skies turned dark and threw rain, thunder and lightning at us all day.  My first time at Nemacolin and the first day seeing the famed Pete Dye Mystic Rock course was another tough one.  Sunday was the polar opposite, with blue skies and sunshine, I was able to demonstrate an excellent bounce back. 86+75=161.

05/05/14  CAGT 1st Place.  TODAY I WON the 15-17 age group in the CAGT VIRGINIA JUNIOR OPEN which punched my ticket to the CALLOWAY JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP at Torrey Pines Golf Course in July!  (Check out... http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/ for more info on this tournament)  Yesterday's conditions were near perfect in the 70's with a slight breeze, but today's conditions changed dramatically to near 85 with high, swirling winds averaging 15-20 mph, gusts to 30.  Weather killed everyone's game today.  76+86=162.

04/28/14:  PJGT TOP 5.  Placed T-3rd at the FAIRFAX COUNTY JUNIOR at Herndon Centennial. 76+81=157. Working on multi-day consistency has lead to a challenging Spring season so far.

04/19/14:  Mid-Atlantic PGA Junior SPRING FLING at Laurel Hills Golf Club.  Placed T-23rd with an 81+81=162. Both days started with frost delays and swirling winds.

04/15/14:  Returned to Westfields Golf Club yesterday for a social round with a friend and shot a 77.

04/14/14:  PJGT TOP 10. Placed 8th at the Bull Run Golf Course tournament.  Good Day 2 bounce back... 84+76=160.

04/02/14  "Swings Fore Survivors"   In March 2014, I decided to start a cancer research fundraiser benefit called "Swings Fore Survivors" from my tournament golf for the American Cancer Society (ACS) in honor of my Grandmother Dillon who died from breast cancer in 1986 (before I was born) and two of my Aunts that have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the last two years.  In order to make this happen, I spent a lot of time on planning how to do this.  I wrote to the NCAA Eligibility Center, the AJGA, the Plantations Jr Golf Tour, and my high school Golf Coach and the high school Director of Sports, telling them of my desire to run this fundraiser and asking for and gaining all the needed approvals.  Working with the ACS, I was able to create a personal web page to announce this fundraiser and manage sending out emails to my extended family members and friends across the United States who like to follow my performance during the season and at the same time support this good cause.  Check out my fundraiser web page at:  http://main.acsevents.org/goto/swings_for_survivors  If you are interested for more information or if you would like to donate to this great cause, please use this link!  Your support is appreciated!

03/30/14:  PJGT TOP 10. Placed T-9th at the NORTHERN VIRGINIA OPEN held at the Westfields Golf Club with an 83 in pouring rain and high winds.  Day 2 of the tournament was cancelled.   

02/20/14 Well...I'm back from my first tournament weekend of 2014...the AJGA Preseason at Vinoy. After 6 weeks off for SAT classes, Day 2 was tough - the greens were fast, but I caught up with them by days end.  Day 2 was much more rockin'...shot a 73 and felt my groove coming back.  Total 159, middle of the pack...but a big move up from Day 1 to Day 2.  This week I'm planning my Spring and Summer tournament and camp schedule!  ....hope you will continue to follow me!  I'll post my schedule when it settles in.

02/01/14 I had a very intense workout today at the Club Golf training facility with Brendon Post (PGA training professional).  I am fairly certain that I will feel the impact of this workout tomorrow morning.

01/17/14: Played golf at Needwood golf course in my area, shot a 76 after not being on the course for a couple weeks.  I know exactly what I can improve on and hope to come out shooting lower numbers next time!

12/13/13:  BIG NEWS:  Last week I earned my first Plantations Tour win at the two-day CLUB GLOVE PIEDMONT CLASSIC held at Duke University in Durham NC on December 7 & 8!!!  The weather & competition was really tough.  The weather was 37 degrees on Saturday and 34 degrees with continuous 10-15 mph winds & cold rain.  I won by 8 strokes and was the only player to hit in the 70's...I won by 8.   

2013 PJGT CLUB GLOVE PIEDMONT CLASSIC                  SCORE         PLACE

        12/7    Duke University GC – Blue Course (Round 1)        79             1st (for Round 2 seeding)
        12/8    Duke University GC – Blue Course (Round 2)        79             1st overall 

1/1/13: I haven't updated this blog in a while because it has been a very full Fall for me between all of my school work, high school golf, and various golf tournaments. I played as the #1 on the team going head-to-head with all of the best golfers in the County and in MD.  I qualified for States and opened up with 78, alone in 7th and 3 off the lead (75).  I achieved my goal to make the finals...my goal for next year is to win it! 

8/29/13: Today I received my new x-flex shafts for my driver and three wood!! ...my clubhead speed is averaging nearly 110mph now and so I've decided to go with a ProForce V2 for my driver and a ProLaunch Blue shaft for my 3-wood...should have them ready tomorrow. ;-))  My handicap is down to 3.5 now...keep watching it drop at www.msga.org!!!  I'm also working on my Junior Golf Scoreboard profile...I'll post that link here for you to follow my rise up the national rankings towards #1!  :-)

8/19/13: I got my first hole-in-one at Little Bennett Golf Course!  Hole #3, 141 yards white tees, during high school tryouts. I also made the golf team and hope to be the #1 player.

8/8/13: 2 nights ago I accepted an invitation to compete in the MAPGA Jr Tour Championship today and tomorrow at Turf Valley CC. Starting as the 12th and final seed. After the 1st round today I stand in 5th place with a 76 (http://mapgajr.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/mapgajr13/event/mapgajr1331/contest/1/leaderboard.htm).  Tomorrow I intend to "GO LOW!"  Also, my handicap index is going lower again to 3.6 based on the results of the last couple of tournaments.

2013 MAPGA Junior Tour Invitational Championship            SCORE         PLACE

        8/8    Turf Valley CC – Original Course (Round 1)        76                5th (for Round 2 seeding)
        8/9    Turf Valley CC – Original Course (Round 2)        83                6th overall (Happy! bc was seeded 12th entering the tournament!!!)

8/5/13: Completed a good summer on the MAPGA Jr. Tour. I placed 14th out of 179 players total in the boys 16-18 age group.  This summer season, I have lowered my handicap to 4.0 with lots of skills to grow and lots of time to learn.  To access my handicap and watch it drop lower over the Fall season use this link http://www.msganetwork.org/Score/ScoringRecord.aspx?id=1468886?. (This is the MD State Golf Asso. handicap website for verification.)

2013 MAPGA Tour (Final rank 14th out of 179)              SCORE         PLACE
        6/26  Laytonsville Golf Classic                                 80                 6th
        7/18  Bay Club Golf Classic - East Course                73                 3rd
        7/19  Ocean City G&CC Classic                               72                2nd (tie)
        7/29  University of Maryland GC Classic                    79                7th (tie)
        8/1    University of Maryland GC Classic                    76                4th (tie)

2013 Bobby Bowers Memorial Junior Golf Tournament
         7/8    Springfield CC (Round 1: Stroke Play)              72                6th (for Round 2 seeding, top 64 advance)
         7/9    Springfield CC (Round of 64 - Match Play)        win (8 & 7)
         7/9    Springfield CC (Round of 32 - Match Play)        lost (6 & 5)

2013 MAPGA Capitol Shootout Qualifier (Top 10 qualify to play in "Capitol Shootout" at Congressional CC on 8/6)
        8/2   Kenwood Country Club                                      75                10th (tie)