Playing great golf take patience.

That’s something Chase Yakaitis seems to have plenty of.

After finishing his 2-over par 73 at last week’s Colonial League Golf Championships, Yakaitis didn’t ask anyone if he won. Didn’t look at a leaderboard to see where he stood.

He just turned in his scorecard like he does after all of his rounds.

When did he find out he was this year’s champ?

“When we get down to the scorer’s table and they tell me I’m leading,” said the Salisbury sophomore last Tuesday after his round at Bethlehem Municipal Golf Course. “That’s a great answer for me. That sounds amazing.”

After fourth-place finishes in last year’s league and district championship tournaments, Yakaitis entered this year’s tournament as one of the favorites. His 73 last week was one shot better than Saucon Valley’s Anthony Albano (74) in second place. Landon Romanczuk (Bangor) was third with a 75.

Yakaitis made seven pars on the front nine, offsetting a bogey on the fourth hole with a birdie on the sixth to shot even par 36 through nine holes.

A string of eight straight pars ended with a bogey on the par-5 15th hole, but he still held a two-shot lead before he bogeyed the par-4 finishing hole to seal the win.

“I played the approach shots really well and gave myself chances for par,” Yakaitis said. “I kept steady the whole way. It was really solid. I was in a flow.”

While he knew he had a good round going, unlike a lot of today’s players, he adheres to a strict policy of not looking at online leaderboards during play.

“I just put that away and don’t even worry about that,” Yakaitis said. “Play the best you can and go from there. I don’t want that to get in my head too much.”

Salisbury head coach Chris Butynski admires his player’s ability to stay in the moment.

“His temperament and his mentality is so neutral,” said the first-year Falcon head coach. “There’s no highs and lows. He is just calm the whole time. It doesn’t matter if he hits a bad shot or a good shot. He puts it out of his mind. He’s on to the next shot. He doesn’t get rattled.”

Last Tuesday was a bit wet and windy. And the tournament was played from the blue tees, which made it several hundreds yard longer than any course the teams play during the regular season.

It certainly intimidated some players.

“I’m used to playing in these conditions so it was really just another day for me,” said Yakaitis. “My swing felt really nice. I felt I could play well today and make a strong finish.”

With the win, Yakaitis earns an exemption from the District 11 qualifier this week and has already secured his place in next week’s District 11 Championships.

Other players who earned their way into the qualifier based on season scoring average competed in that event Tuesday at Shawnee Golf Resort. The district championships are set for next Tuesday at The Steel Club.

Four Salisbury players qualified for the league tournament.

Jackson Skeans tied for 33th place out of 65 players at the league championship tournament.

The senior mostly avoided big numbers while shooting a front-nine 43 with five bogeys and one double to go with three pars. A rough patch in his second nine holes resulted in a back-nine 49 for a round of 92.

Senior Markus Jones shot 24-over par 95 to finish in a tie for 44th place last week. He made one birdie and one par to go along with nine bogeys and a few doubles. Two front-nine triple-bogeys resulted in a 49, but Jones avoided anything higher than double in shooting a back-nine 46.

Senior Hunter Kotarski finished tied for 48th last week with a 28-over par 99 (49-50).

The league tournament marks the end of one of the best Colonial League seasons the Falcon golf team has had in over a decade. The team went 6-6, which is the best record and most wins since the 2014 Salisbury golf team won eight matches.

“The whole season was fun,” said Butynski. “I’m in the school. I know all of these kids. I knew this team’s camaraderie. They all get along. They’re all pulling for each other. They are always encouraging each other, especially in the season when they’re playing with a teammate. It’s a good group of boys. It’s going to be sad to lose three seniors.”