eventually lost in a playoff with Emiliano Grillo. Schenk’s dedication and consistent performance were further highlighted by a strong T4 finish at the John Deere Classic, ultimately securing his third career top-10 performance. “It has been a bit of a confidence boost. This has been my best season, by far, but I do not feel like I have done anything that different from my prior seasons. I have just played a little better and gotten smarter. There are going to be highs and lows when you play and it’s important to not let those fluctuations affect you,” said Schenk. His consistency throughout 2023 earned him a spot in the Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club. “East Lake (site of the Tour Championship) has been my greatest achievement on Tour, so far,” said Schenk. “That was a goal of mine to start the year (2023), just like anyone else. I didn’t win but I got close a couple times. Just to make it to East Lake, you have to play consistently for the better part of the year and that’s what we did. Obviously, I hope I win, but if you make it to East Lake, you have played a complete year of golf in my opinion.” In the midst of playing well on tour, the Schenk’s recently experienced the birth of their son, Adam Schenk, Jr. “It has been great. Honestly, it has been harder with travel and just having less time,” said Schenk. “I don’t know what I did with all that time before. I’m sure I wasted a lot more time. I have traveled with him to the British Open, the PGA Championship, and the U.S. Open in California, so he has a lot of miles on his passport. There were a couple of times when we had delays and missed connections, one of those ended up in a seven-hour layover at the airport. But, overall, it has been awesome.” Schenk finds relief in the brief time that he gets to spend back in Indiana. “Most of the time when I am not golfing, I am back home in Indiana. But, last year, I played 33 times and was only in Indy for a few weeks in total,” said Schenk. “With the changes this fall, it’s really nice to spend time there during the off-season.” Schenk approaches golf with a unique mindset and does not place extreme pressure on any unmanageable goals. He places his emphasis on incremental performance goals and smaller achievements, trusting that they will contribute to larger aspirations. “I don’t get too in-depth with goals, to be completely honest. I just try to improve every week. Ultimately, I want to win and I want to make it to East Lake every year,” said Schenk. “I make weekly and monthly goals as I go rather than the ‘big picture.’ I am a big believer in just making a plan of how I am going to get better, what I need to work on, what I am doing well, and how I am going to continue that. It’s more in the moment. I could make a long-term goal, but long-term goals don’t mean anything. It’s the short steps you take towards that.” Schenk remains deeply connected to his Indiana roots. His success serves as an inspiration to other young aspiring golfers in the state and reinforces the fact that Indiana Golf continues to improve the talents of our junior golfers. Indiana Golf Journal
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