His is a story of inspiration, humility, sportsmanship and mental toughness.

All of those attributes together resulted in a Class AA individual state golf championship for O’Gorman’s Drew Simon, who won the title in a sudden death playoff last week at Lee Park Golf Course in Aberdeen.

The intriguing, and inspirational, thing about this story isn’t so much that he won in a pressure-packed playoff that would make most golfers queasy under the gravity of the situation, it’s how he got there. 

Best performance of the year

It’s not like Simon entered this year’s tournament as a massive underdog. The senior finished 10th in the state meet two years ago.

• But even he admits he didn’t have his greatest golf season in 2026. His best outing was a 76 midway through O’Gorman’s regular season.

Last week in Aberdeen, though, the 18-year old strung together a pair of one-under-par scores on back-to-back days before drilling a four-foot put in sudden death over Lincoln’s Tyson Blom.

“I really didn’t feel much at all,” he said when asked if he felt the nerves creeping in during the playoff. “When I’m on a golf course, I don’t really have expectations. You just gotta keep going.”

‘It was the right thing to do’

After finishing 10th in the state meet as a sophomore in 2024, Simon was obviously looking forward to another shot in 2025 as a junior. 

But when it came down to decision-time for O’Gorman head coach Tom Jansa to select his six golfers to compete in last year’s state tournament, it was a tough call. Simon and O’Gorman senior Zach Greble were battling for the final spot.

After playing just nine holes in a scheduled 18-hole round to determine who would get the nod, Simon backed out, and let his friend compete in the state tournament for his senior season.

“I thought to myself that I had another year,” Simon said. “It was the right thing to do. I felt like if I was a senior in that position, I’d want to go. So I just decided to give it to him.”

So Simon sat back, went to last year’s state tournament as a spectator, and watched his good friend finish ninth.

“As it turns out, it was for sure the right choice,” he said of Greble’s finish.

It seems taking that step back last year was looked favorably upon by the golf gods. Jansa certainly thinks so.

“Call it whatever you want – karma, paying it forward,” Jansa said. “We talk about that in golf. We talk about how we put the ideals, and the honor, and the integrity of the sport, and sportsmanship first. Good things come from that. I believe in that vein, the same thing happened here. That attitude that allowed him to gracefully give up a spot was part of the reason he was able to play good golf under pressure.” 

YouTube and 'garage sale' clubs

It’s also not like Simon came from typical golf beginnings. His father, John, is an avid golfer and spent time with Simon and his twin brother, Nick, on the golf course over the years.

But Simon said he didn’t start seriously competing until about four years ago.

“My dad taught me the basic stuff, but I’ve never gotten a lesson,” he said. “Not one. I think that’s kind of cool, winning the state golf title, and never taking a lesson in your life.”

He also said he’s learned a lot from watching YouTube videos. He started playing with “garage sale-type clubs.” When he finished 10th in the state as a sophomore, it was with 15-year-old irons in his golf bag.

“And not a great putter,” he said with a chuckle. “To be honest, I don’t have a real good golf swing, but it doesn’t always have to be good to score well.”

He’s since saved up enough money working in the summer at Central Valley Golf Course in Hartford, and Great Bear Ski Valley in the winter to purchase a new set of irons.

‘I’m even choked up now’

A day after Simon won the state individual title, and the Knights finished third in the team standings, O’Gorman held an awards banquet.

Jansa scanned the room, and fought back tears as he talked about sportsmanship. He didn’t directly single out Simon, but it was clear where he was headed.

“It was absolutely because of that,” he said when asked afterwards if Simon was on his mind. “As a coach, I’ve been through many of those scenarios where you need to pick the final roster. They’re mostly unpleasant.

"Golf isn’t like football or basketball. They’re not on the bench, and it’s not like they don’t get to start. In golf, they don’t get to go. It can be really harsh, so for him to turn the tables and make it not about him is amazing. (Last year), he just stepped back and said, ‘I don’t feel right about it. I think Zach should go.’ It does choke me up. It chokes me up now, talking about it.”

How far can he take it?

Simon said he wasn’t sure if he was interested in pursuing a golf career after high school. Now, with a state title on his resume, that might have changed, and there is an interest in playing collegiately.

“Golf is about consistency,” he said. “I feel like I should do a few winter tournaments, just to see how I could do. One tournament, it’s not going to take you very far. But if you can consistently keep shooting well, that’s where I feel like it could take you somewhere.”

Playing in college or not, it seems Simon’s approach, attitude, and outlook have already taken him places many will never go.