Boys golf: Two Comets, Cougar move on from 1A Byron Sectional

BYRON – As the cut line to advance to state moved higher, three local golfers were slowly realizing that they could let out the breath they were holding – literally and figuratively.

When Newman’s Kyle Wolfe and Jacob Donald and Eastland’s Kellen Henze finished their rounds of 7-over-par 79 at the Class 1A Byron Sectional on Monday at PrairieView, it looked for the longest time like they would be in a playoff for an advancing spot or two.

But as more players finished their rounds, it became more and more apparent that the guys who shot 79s would be heading to the state meet this weekend.

In the end, two golfers with 80s grabbed the final two qualifying spots, and the two Comets and Henze, as well as St. Bede’s Jake Delaney, all breathed a sigh of relief.

“It was very nerve-wracking,” Wolfe said. “I made sure to go down and keep hitting range balls for the past hour to make sure that if it came down to a playoff – because I was thinking for a while that it was going to – I’d be ready to go.”

“It was looking like it was going to be pretty close,” Delaney said. “I didn’t know what I needed to do to advance; I figured the cut line would be just to break 80, and I was 3 over and doing fine after nine, then I ended up making a triple bogey on the 16th hole, so I was nervous. I ended up going par-birdie to finish, so making birdie on the last hole meant a lot, kind of felt like it sealed the deal.”

Equally as nervous were the Riverdale Rams, who kept waiting for teammates to finish their rounds so they could compare notes and see if it would be them or Byron to grab the third qualifying spot as a team.

But after James Moorhusen finished his round with a flourish, the Rams sat at 330, while the Tigers were at 333 – and Riverdale celebrated punching its ticket to state.

“Coming down the stretch, we knew we had to keep scoring low,” Moorhusen said. “It’s a big relief, a weight off our shoulders. Having advanced out of one of the tougher sectionals in the state feels really good, and I think we’re in a good spot heading into the remainder of this week.”

Moorhusen and Byron’s Brayden Baker tied for second with a 76, four shots behind medalist Jann Atendido of IC Catholic, who shot an even-par 72. IC Catholic also won the team title with a 312, and North Shore Country Day was second with a 320.

“It’s really nice to win both,” Atendido said. “I won the title last year, so it was nice getting to come back and defend it.

“And the goal was to make it down to state as a team, since our school’s golf team has not made it down to state as a team in about 40 years. Winning is a bonus.”

Wolfe fired four birdies in his round of 79, and it wasn’t until he was done that he looked at the big picture to see if he had a chance to advance.

“It was just take it hole by hole, make sure to focus extremely hard on every single shot that I took, because every shot matters in this tournament,” he said. “The key was my iron game. I thought I hit the ball really well with my irons, and then made some big putts.”

Donald also cited his ball-striking and approach shots with his irons as the reason why he’s headed to Bloomington-Normal this weekend. And while Wolfe calls PrairieView his home course, Donald felt his unfamiliarity with the layout was actually a big advantage for him.

“Honestly, coming into a course I don’t know is best for me, because I don’t overthink stuff. I just come in here and have a different mindset. It helped me a lot today,” he said. “I had no double bogeys today, which really helped me a lot, obviously, and then I birdied the second hole, and that really helped too.”

“I had no idea what I was going to shoot, or what was going to happen today. I had no idea I was going to make it to state, to be honest, but I’m so happy.”

Henze, who had never played the back nine on the course, did have a score in mind – and it turned out to be right on the nose.

“I was going to try and shoot 80 today, go 40 on the front and 40 on the back, and then I’d be at peace with whatever happened with that score,” he said. “One stroke under that and I got in, so it was a good number to shoot for.

“It seemed like everything was kind of working, but I’d say the main thing that helped me today was putting. Just the greens were a little faster, and I was able to kind of hit the spots and roll in a few putts from 10 to 20 feet that normally wouldn’t drop.”

As happy as Henze was to qualify for state, the extension of his golf season means Eastland-Pearl City’s starting quarterback has state golf in Bloomington-Normal and a football game at East Dubuque on his plate Friday. That’s going to be on his mind the next few days.

“Oh geez, I don’t know,” he said about Friday’s conflicting schedule. “I’m just trying to take it one day at a time. I thought, ‘If I make it to state, that’s going to be fun, but then I also have a football game across on the other side of the state the same night.’ I guess we’ll just cross that bridge when we get there.”

Moorhusen’s 76 led the Rams to the final qualifying spot as a team. He had to overcome back-to-back double bogeys on the sixth and seventh holes, but was proud of how he – and especially his teammates – kept their noses to the grindstone.

“I got off to a pretty slow start; it felt like I was doing things right, but things just weren’t going my way,” he said. “But I just kept telling myself that if I did what was right, things should fall into place, and they did toward the end.

“They have big, quick greens here, and we knew that the team that putted best was going to advance, and I felt like we putted well as a team today. That was the difference.”

The Rams also got an 83 from Ben Nelson, an 84 from Ashton Sutton, an 87 from Sam Willems, an 88 from Ethan Kiddoo, and an 89 from Parker Friant.

Newman was sixth as a team with a 337, losing a fifth-score tiebreaker against Rockford Christian for fifth. Logan Palmer (87), Carson Palmer (92), Ty Brockman (92), and Grant Koerner (115) rounded out the Comets’ lineup.

Eastland placed ninth with a 358. Andy Anderson (84), Peyton Urish (96), Keegan Strauch (99), Carson Heckman (101), and Gabe York (103) also played for the Cougars.

Fulton finished 12th with a 378. Ian Wiebenga missed qualifying for state by just two shots with an 82, while Landon Meyers (96), Reed Owen (99), Kyle Meinema (101), Aiden Daley (104), and Gavyn Mendoza (105) also competed.

Amboy and Morrison each had a pair of individuals compete. The Clippers got an 85 from Wes Wilson and a 94 from Hayden Wittenauer, while the Mustangs saw Mason Dykstra shoot an 85 and Isaac Melton fire a 104.