When the pressure is on, so is Fraser Graham.
Graham shot a round of 73 on May 16 to win the Central Jersey Group III championship, held at Running Deer Golf Course in Pittsgrove.
"Fraser really did well," Princeton Coach Sheryl Severance said.
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Graham now advances on to the state championship, which will be held on May 24 at Neshanic Golf Course. In order to reach the state finals, a golfer had to be part of one of the two winning teams or one of the top five individual finishers.
Hopewell and Shawnee both finished with rounds of 323. Being the overall champion for the day, however, Graham advanced with room to spare.
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"He blew away the field," Severance noted. "The next best score was 76 (shared by West Windsor North's Charles Cai and Ocean City's Jared Ash)."
Graham struggled a bit early in the round. Needing to make clutch shots, however, he delivered.
"I think he was nervous about the round because Running Deer is a tough course," Severance said. "He was five over going into the final five holes. He then had an eagle and a birdie. He finished strong."
Marshall Crane, Matt Lesnik, Ajay Vellore and Nick Iacono-Walsh also competed for Princeton. None of those four advanced.
"They were mostly in the 80s and 90s," Severance noted. "They didn't play as well as they did in the counties. This was a tricky course."
Neshanic is also a difficult course. For that reason, Graham will make sure to get in a practice round there this week before the state finals.
"He'll go there and take some notes," Severance said. "You have to play the course to know how fast the greens are and where you need to put your drives on each hole."
That should prepare Graham as he tries to repeat as the state champion.
"Last year, it was all of a sudden him stepping up with the big boys," Severance said. "This year, it's different. It's about whether he can keep his composure. Can he play with all the hype and the expectations. It's more of a mind thing now."
With Graham having already defended his Mercer title and adding a win in the sectionals, he has proved he can handle the pressure.
"If he can win the states again -- added to all the other things he's won -- he might go down as one of the all-time winners in New Jersey," Severance said.
