The Mystery Golfer Was ...

Hanover -- And the mystery golfer at the Dartmouth Football Classic last weekend at Hanover Country Club was ... Jordan Kling, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound quarterback/defensive back from Tuscola, Ill..
Kling (lower right corner with the black collar in photo above) flew into Hanover with his father on Friday, in time to sneak in a little golf before the Saturday fund-raiser.
"I couldn't come out for the spring game because I was kind of busy doing baseball and track," explained Kling, who lettered in five sports this year. "I think my dad read about (the golf fund-raiser) first. I'm a big fan of golf and we live on a golf course, so we thought this would be fun."
Not only is Kling a big fan of golf who lives on a golf course, he also played high school golf last fall (between football practices) and is working this summer at the course on which the family lives, Ironhorse Golf Club, a 7,100-yard layout that will host the 2007 Illinois State Am. While he doesn't have a handicap, Kling guesses it would be in the range of an eight.
"Golf is one of those sports you have with you for the rest of your life," he said. "I'm very fortunate I got to start playing at such a young age and have a love for the game."
Kling, whose best round at Ironhorse was a 75, can hit the ball a long way, something Jay Fiedler found out on the first tee. While Fiedler won the long-drive contest, Kling was every bit his match when the two squared off against each other for a little extracurricular fun on the first tee.
"That was great," said Kling. "I met him just about two minutes before that. I was excited to shake his hand and then to get out here and let it rip with him was a neat experience.
"The one I hit again him was maybe 295. I kind of missed it a little bit but it was in the fairway. I'll take it. Then I put one down there pretty far."
Kling had his picture taken with Fiedler and had a chance to talk a little football and track with the NFL quarterback, who used to be a decathlete. He admitted to a few nerves on the first tee with Fiedler looking on.
"I stood over the first one a few seconds longer and said to myself, 'Shake it off,' " he said. "But it was all fun."
Kling is eager for the fun to continue on another venue in Hanover come fall.
"I want to get out here and get started with everything as soon as I can," he said, "but I also want to enjoy the last summer."
A busy last summer before college, at that.
"I'm working at the golf course and have another job," he said. "I'll be working out for football, doing conditioning and then I'll play some golf when I'm done with that."
Kling, who threw for 2,259 yards and ran for 926 last fall while helping Tuscola to a 12-1 record and its first state semifinal berth, was recruited by Dartmouth as an "athlete" who could play in the offensive backfield or the defensive backfield.
"Right now I'll probably stay at quarterback," he said. "I'll probably play some special teams this year to hopefully get on the field."
An early decision admit to Dartmouth, Kling attended Coach Buddy Teevens' football camp last spring. Living 20 minutes for the University of Illinois -- where Teevens was once on the staff -- he considered going to school there as well as at the University of Chicago (coached by former Dartmouth assistant Dick Maloney) and at Washington & Lee (where former Dartmouth baseball coach Mike Walsh is the athletic director).
But a walk around the Dartmouth campus, a look at the extensive work going on at Memorial Field and meeting people like Fiedler and Brian Mann at the fund-raiser only served to confirm the conviction that he made the right choice.
"A lot of these guys, you can tell they are pretty passionate about Dartmouth," Kling said with a nod at the tent where the group was congregating. "Everybody I've talked to has said you are going to love it here. There's been nothing but positive stuff.
"If I can turn out half as successful as these guys that would be great."