April 26, 2021 at 9:13 a.m.
Hodag golfers take 6th in first match
Hodag golfers take 6th in first match
Overall, the Hodags posted a score of 393, which placed sixth out of eight teams Friday in the Medford Invite at Black River Golf Course.
Juniors Garrett Kulhanek and Kole Gechas shot 85 and 86, respectively, to place in the top six overall, while no one else on the team broke 100.
"I think it was good. It was good to get out," coach Adam Schmidt said. "We had a couple of guys who had never played a high school golf match before. Really only Garrett and Kole were the only ones who had ever played a high school match, and that was two years ago."
Both Kulhanek and Gechas were tied for third overall after the first nine, shooting 41 the first time around Black River's nine-hole layout. The two faded slightly on the second nine - Kulhanek with a 44 and Gechas with a 45, but still placed well within the 40-player field. Neither player made a birdie but both managed to avoid the big numbers for the most part. Kulhanek's only slip-up was a triple bogey 7 on the par-4 third hole during the second nine, while Gechas recorded three double bogeys on his second nine after having all pars and bogeys on his first nine.
"They kind of played as expected. Garrett, his swing has improved so much. He's improved so much. He shot 85 today. That was awesome," Schmidt said. "Garrett had 32 putts, so Garrett actually putted pretty well.
"The big thing today was really keeping the ball in play and, for the most part, Kole and Garrett did a really good job of it, as their scores show. They both said mid irons is something they can work on, hitting the greens. But a lot of it comes with playing."
As for Rhinelander's other three players, Friday's match was a bit of trial by fire. Sophomore Andrew Henrichs shot 57 on the first nine, but 51 on the second for a 108. Sophomore Carter Gaber shot 114 and junior Will Rutkowski, who Schmidt said played 18 for the first time ever, shot 133.
"Carter and Andrew, that kind of is what it is. They had a few penalties and a few things they can improve on," he said. "Andrew's a younger player. He made a few mistakes and that's just what happens you first time out playing a high school match. You get a little nervous. He's got a lot of potential. He's got a nice swing.
"Will, we kind of expected him to shoot high. One thing I would say, I was very impressed with how Will acted. He didn't get down on himself. He wasn't mad. He wasn't angry. He took it shot by shot, which is pretty awesome. I spent a lot of time with him today."
Marathon's Noah Gage shot 1-over 37 on the second nine and ended up as meet medalist with a round of 77. He finished two shots ahead of Lakeland's Kaeden Nomm, and three ahead of Lakeland's Cody Olson.
Despite graduating four of the five starters from a team that finished second in the WIAA D2 state meet in 2019, Lakeland continued to show its dominance, shooting 333 on the day to win the match by 32 strokes over Wisconsin Rapids. Medford and Mosinee, the two other Great Northern Conference schools in the field, tied for third at 377.
"Lakeland is still pretty solid. Medford and Mosinee tied at 370-something. I look at it like we can keep up with those guys," Schmidt said. "We were 390-something, but we took a 114 and a 108. You shave 10 strokes off those guys (and we're right there)."
While the varsity squad played in Medford, the Hodag JV team hosted a nine-hole match at Rhinelander Country Club on Friday. Rhinelander placed fourth of the four teams with a score of 275. Colton Leman was the low scorer for the Hodag JV with a 64.
Rhinelander opens GNC play Thursday in the first leg of the conference tournament, hosted by Lakeland and Minocqua Country Club. The team's scheduled invite Monday at Ashland was postponed to this Friday due to inclement weather.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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