Warrenton’s Dillon Keeven responded from the best round of his high school career with another impressive performance one week later, advancing to the Class 4 state tournament Monday and Tuesday in Springfield.

Keeven shot an 8-over 78 at Monday’s sectional to finish 10th overall among qualifying golfers.

Dealing with wet conditions early in his round, Keeven shot bogeys on six straight holes and hit his tee shot short of the green on the par-3 fifth.

“He had a poor chip to leave him 15 feet,” Warrenton Head Coach Matt Griffin said. “But he made the par putt, which was huge for him just to get off that bogey train.”

He bogeyed his next two holes, but responded with pars on the final two holes of the round.

And then he waited.

The tournament was delayed due to rain, so Keeven waited for the rain to stop so he could learn his fate. 

“I talked to other coaches during the delay and they felt like 78 was pretty solid,” Griffin said. “But there was some really good scores. (Davis) Soderberg from St. Charles West shot a 65 and a few other kids shot 68.”

Keeven made the cut by one stroke.

“He was close in the conference tournament but he struggled the last few holes,” Griffin said. “But he has really broken through. I knew he was capable of this. When he shot 76 at districts, I knew he could come out and break 80 at Moberly.”

Griffin said one of Keeven’s best attributes on the course is what got him off the “bogey train” near the end of his round Monday.

“He’s got his routine,” Griffin said. “He sticks, goes, swings and hits the ball. He doesn’t take a lot of time. He just goes and plays.”

Keeven will likely need a short memory Monday and Tuesday in Springfield when he tees off against the best golfers in the state.

“It’s not an overly long course,” Griffin said. “But it has quick greens. It’s certainly not an easy course, and he’ll be going against the best of the best.”

Keeven will shoot a practice round Sunday before his first round Monday morning, where he hopes the best run of his career continues for two more rounds.

“Hopefully he can put in a couple rounds under 80 again and have a good experience, but everything is icing on the cake from here,” Griffin said. “He played two of the best rounds of his life to get him to the state tournament, so you just never know what can happen now.”