May 10, 2023 at 2:24 p.m.
Hodag golfers take 4th, 3rd in pair of GNC matches
Hodag golfers take 4th, 3rd in pair of GNC matches
The Hodags shot their best round of the year, totaling 325 strokes as they finished third in the fourth leg of the Great Northern Conference golf tournament at Bass Lake Golf Club in Deerbrook.
Hodag coach Adam Schmidt said the goal was for the team to make better choices and keep the ball in play more than it did on Monday when it shot 351 and took fourth place in its home leg of the conference tournament at Northwood Golf Club.
"We played a whole lot better today," Schmidt said after Tuesday's round. "We talked to the kids about trying to make better choices, risk (versus) reward. We talked about yesterday and talked to them about playing boring golf. Hit your fairways, hit your greens and keep the ball in play."
After failing to get anyone inside the top 10 on Monday, the Hodags had two players score conference points on Tuesday.
Senior Andrew Henrichs led the way on Tuesday, shooting a career-best 5-over-par round of 76 to take fifth place on the day. He birdied two of Bass Lake's three par 5s - the fourth and the 13th - and made only one double bogey on the day.
"Andrew said, 'I tried to play boring golf today,' and I'm like, 'There you go. You play boring golf and shoot 76,'" Schmidt said.
Sophomore Brody Kowieski shot 79 on Tuesday to finish alone in eighth place. Though he struggled a bit on the greens, Kowieski did not record a score worse than bogey in his round.
"Brody tried not to attack as many pins," Schmidt said. "He just hit to the front of the green, to the middle of the green and didn't really go after it. He struck the ball really well. I think he had like 39 putts. He had a lot of putts, but he birdied the second to last hole for 79. That was pretty awesome."
Sam Schoppe shot 83 on Tuesday, two strokes outside the top 10. Rhinelander also got career-low rounds of 87 from Blake Petroff and 93 from Braden Mork to help their cause.
"Braden, that was a personal best for him, which was awesome," Schmidt noted. "Blake shot 87. That helped, our 4-man shoot that. It was awesome. He got a personal best. He played really good. We've been talking to him about just playing bogey golf and throw a few pars in there."
Petroff and Mork were solid in the Hodags' Nos. 4 and 5 spots on Monday, carding rounds of 90 and 96, but none of the Hodags' top three were able to get things going on their home course, as they finished 11 strokes behind Mosinee for third.
Henrichs, Kowieski and Schoppe all shot 87 and tied for 12th, one stroke outside the top 10.
All three ran into trouble along the way. Henrichs and Schoppe both had a pair of triple bogeys on their cards and Kowieski had a four-hole stretch during his second nine that including a bogey and three double bogeys.
Schmidt said many of the issues boiled down to shot selections that brought trouble into play on Northwood's tight layout. He used the short par-5 seventh as an example, which has water guarding the left side of the landing zone for those who take driver off the tee, tempted by the prospect of going for the green in two.
"We just played really poorly at our course. Walking with them at the course a lot of them (just played aggressively)," he said. "Like on seven, they were hitting shots that would get them to go in the water. And it's like, 'Why don't you hit 5-iron?' I think Andrew was the only one, that hit a club that would not get him to the water."
Due to the threat of inclement weather, which never arrived, the players played Northwood's front nine twice on Monday.
Lakeland's Jack Rubo took medallist honors both days. He shot a 1-over 73 on Monday and backed it up with a 2-over 73 on Tuesday. Lakeland won Monday's meet by three strokes over Medford but saw a 31-match conference winning streak come to an end on Tuesday as the Raiders shot 309 to edge the T-Birds by three shots.
"It was cool to see Medford beat Lakeland," Schmidt noted. "I think everyone the last couple of years thought Lakeland can't be beat. They're just too good. Medford came out and made a statement tonight that Lakeland can definitely get beat."
Lakeland leads Medford by two points in the conference standings through four matches. The Hodags sit fourth, a point behind third-place Mosinee. Jett Walters of Mosinee has a five-point lead win the conference player of the year standings. Henrichs is ninth in the standings, Schoppe is 11th and Kowieski is 12th. The top 15 at season's end will earn all-conference recognition.
The Hodags will continue a busy stretch of golf this afternoon as they head to Eagle River Golf Course for the fifth leg of the GNC tournament. That will kick off a string of four meets in five days for Rhinelander. The Hodags will take part in the Merrill Best Ball Invite on Saturday, travel to Trout Lake Golf Club in Arbor Vitae for the sixth leg of the conference tournament Monday and finish up GNC play Tuesday at Ishalla Country Club in Tomahawk.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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