With six holes to play in Monday’s 18-team, 18-hole Pirate Invitational hosted by Ottawa at Deer Park Country Club in Oglesby, Burlington Central senior Tyler Samaan was at even par and a few shots off the lead.

He then found the momentum he would need to help him the rest of the way, carding an eagle and then back-to-back birdies to claim the individual championship. Samaan posted a 4-under 66 and won the scorecard tiebreaker over Peoria Christian’s Drew Gama thanks to the eagle.

“I think I had about 190 to the hole (on the par-5 No. 18), talked with my coaches about the next shot and just trusted our thought process,” Samaan said. “From there I was able to put it about 10 feet from the pin and made the putt for eagle. It was a momentum boaster for sure.

“I’ll admit, I’m a scoreboard

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