May 1, 2019 at 2:14 p.m.
Hodag golfers finish fourth at Medford
Hodag golfers finish fourth at Medford
The Hodags shot 374 Tuesday and placed fourth in the second leg of the GNC tournament in Medford.
That's 17 shots better than Rhinelander fared last Friday in the Medford Invite. That meet was played in sunny but windy conditions. The wind was down on Tuesday, but the temperature was much colder.
"It wasn't as breezy, but it was cold today," coach Adam Schmidt said. "A lot of kids were complaining. You're wearing a couple of layers, so it wasn't that bad, but their hands were cold. That made it a little bit difficult."
Senior Nick Twite posted another solid round for the Hodags on Tuesday, with an 11-over-par round of 83 that took fourth place on the day. Freshman Kole Gechas also cracked the top 10, tying for sixth with a round of 86.
Twite's round was solid, with a birdie on the opening hole and only two double bogeys on the card.
"Nick, he said there were so many things he could have done better with putting and stuff, but I walked with him a few holes and he was hitting greens," Schmidt said. "He was getting the ball in play and keeping the ball in play. He just worked his way around the course. Being cold and miserable, he still shot 83, which is good."
Coupled with a tie for fifth in the GNC opener last Tuesday in Tomahawk, Twite is establishing himself early on as a player in the mix for first-team all-conference honors after placing 13th in the GNC a season ago.
"He earned a bunch of points, which is good," Schmidt said. "He's hoping to be first-team all-conference, which I think he should be able to as long as he keeps going."
Gechas also played a steady round that included seven pars and only three double bogeys.
"He worked his way around the course. I talked to him and he's like, 'Yeah, I'm playing bogey golf and throwing in some pars.' On a day like today, that's not bad. As a freshman, it was awesome for him to step in and help us out."
Neil Mathews was third on the team with a 99, Devon Gaber shot 106 and Nick Schiek carded a 110. Schmidt said he saw some putting issues and mental mistakes, but chalked that up to the lack of time his team has had on the course due to the late winter thaw.
"Some of that's for just not being able to practice," he said. "We've only played. Half the guys have only played 36 holes. Three of the guys, this is their third round."
Lakeland shot 320 and beat Mosinee by 33 strokes for the team title. Lakeland's Kyle Bengtson shot an even par round of 72 to take medalist honors.
Tuesday's meet kicked off a busy stretch for the Hodags, who are set to play 72 holes over four days. Rhinelander traveled to Lawsonia Wednesday morning for the Green Lake Invite, will be at Indianhead Golf Course in Mosinee today for the third leg of the GNC tournament and will come home Friday morning to host the Hodag Invite at Northwood Golf Club.
"Friday will be interesting because we haven't played our home course yet. It will be exciting," Schmidt noted.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.