RHS golfers finish 2nd, 3rd in Medford meets

The Rhinelander High School golf team became well-acquainted with Medford’s Black River Golf Course Thursday and Friday, playing the nine-hole loop four times in a pair of matches.

While the conditions were different during the two rounds, the scores were pretty similar. The Hodags shot 334 to finish as runners-up in the nine-team Medford Invite on Thursday and followed that up with a 339 of Friday as they took third in Round 2 of the Great Northern Conference golf tournament. 

Conditions were more benign on Thursday. The mercury dropped and the breeze picked up Friday ahead of an incoming storm system, but Hodag coach Adam Schmidt said, overall, it helped playing the same course on back-to-back days. 

“I think it helped a lot. The kids, they knew what they needed to hit. They left the pins all in the same place and played the same tees we did yesterday,” he said after Friday’s round. “Everything was the same. It was good to see that. But yesterday was only a 10 mph wind at the max. Today it was gusting to 35. There were some shots I saw, kids would hit up and the wind would blow them (off target).”

Junior Brody Kowieski led the way during Thursday’s Medford Invite, shooting a 5-over-par round of 77 to finish in fourth overall on the day. The offense in his round came on the par-5 fifth hole. He eagled the 500-yard hole the first time around and made birdie the second time through as he posted nines of 38 and 39.

Sam Schoppe took ninth with a round of 80. He shot 40 both times around the loop with three birdies on the day. Blake Petroff finished 13th with an 87, Hank Kowieski was 17th with a 90 and Dylan Shefveland, making his first varsity start, shot 104. 

“The boys played better, Brody played better,” Schmidt noted. “Sam struggled a little bit but still shot 80, so that was good. Blake played OK and Hank played pretty good. Hank kind of hopped on the bogey train for a while and it was hard to get off that. 

“Dylan got a chance. We swapped out our five man and the rest of them played it off. We got Dylan an opportunity to see what it’s like.”

Petroff came back on Friday and turned in a career-low round of 80 as he finished seventh on the day and picked up four points in the individual conference standings. Starting on the par-4 sixth hole, Petroff started well with three straight pars before making birdie on the par-3 ninth. He played his next nine holes in 43 before a par-bogey-par-bogey-par finish.

“Blake played really good. He played well. Watching him, he had a couple of rough holes but then he came back and was hitting the ball good and putted OK,” Schmidt said.

Brody Kowieski didn’t have as much success on the fifth hole Friday, playing it in bogey and par as part of a round of 83 that put him in a tie for ninth. He birdied the par-4 seventh and, after making triple of the par-4 eighth the first time around, birdied that hole his second time through. 

Schoppe shot 84, missing the top 10 and conference points by one stroke. He finished his round with three straight double bogeys. 

“Sam just kind of fell apart. He was struggling with his putter,” Schmidt noted. “He actually switched putters to one of Brody’s old ones and putted with it last night. He putted pretty poorly yesterday and he thought that would be the answer. You’ve just got to spend time putting, it’s just hard.”

Hank Kowieski shot 92 on Friday and freshman Chase West, back in the No. 5 spot, shot 109.

Lakeland won both matches, shooting 313 on Thursday and 309 on Friday. The Hodags finished two strokes ahead of Prentice for the runner-up spot on Thursday and were eight strokes behind Mosinee for second on Friday. Friday’s result moved Rhinelander into third in the GNC standings, one point ahead of Northland Pines, through two rounds.

The Hodags were slated to be back in action Monday in the Marathon Invite at Pine Valley Golf Course in a match that concluded after press time. The Hodags will host the third leg of the GNC tournament Thursday at Northwood Golf Club.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].