Glenwood City boys’ golf team wins playoff and return trip to state tournament
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WATCHING HIS SHOT off the tee box was Topper sophomore Charlie Lamb during play at the May 30 WIAA Division 3 golf sectional in Cadott. Lamb finished with an 18-hole score of 85 to lead Glenwood City to a second-place finish and its second consecutive state berth.
—photo by Jacob Maes Photography
CADOTT — The round started oddly enough with a fun story.
The Glenwood City golf team was getting ready to play in their sectional against five very competitive teams at Cadott’s Whispering Pines Golf Course last Tuesday, May 30. As they all gathered in the parking lot, the number five golfer Ben Wittmer realized that he had forgotten his clubs and had to drive home quickly. In the end, it turned out to be a lucky charm for the team. When the dust settled on the competition, Wittmer had played exceptionally well alongside his teammates. The end result was a back-to-back trip to state for Coach Popko and Coach Ketola’s program.
To start the day, the boys had elected to take a relaxed approach to the entire competition. As Popko stated, “we knew going in that our average would need to come down if we were going to be competitive. At the regional, the Chetek-Weyerhaeuser team had worn pink flamingo shirts. We decided to follow a similar model and we obtained some school color Hawaiian shirts.” At the regional, the team had performed alright but not nearly as well as they are capable of shooting. To help the team play with a more aggressive and relaxed demeanor, the trick worked. All of the athletes went in with an attitude of “nothing to lose” and the end result worked out for them. That considered, it was anything but easy.
The day started very well. The team had worked on putting and chipping all week. The extra practice paid off when each of the athletes started making exceptionally impressive putts. Gabe Knops, senior, was the best demonstration of this as he made a number of long range efforts from twenty, twenty five, or even thirty feet away (two of them for birdie). Sophomore Charlie Lamb performed similarly, striking the ball well and almost scoring three birdies in a row on the front nine. Sophomore Esdyn Swenby was striking the ball incredibly well on the front and his scoring opportunities reflected that. Ben Wittmer, junior, put together a nice front nine round without any major problems. While senior Ian Radintz struggled occasionally, the front was serviceable and the short game work combined with the relaxed attitudes put the team at ease. The front nine ended with Lamb shooting 40, Swenby shooting 41, Knops had a 43, Wittmer a 47 and Radintz a 50. This average of 171 was tied for lowest of the season for GC.
This front nine put Glenwood in second place at the turn and in a very good position (as two teams move on). That said, they were only ahead of the competition by one stroke. Ladysmith had been a state-ranked team all season, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser was the #2 seed, and teams like Prentice, Hurley, Neillsville, Flambeau, and Unity were all in contention. As Popko noted, “the whole day we knew it was going to be exceptionally tight. We had played great on the front, but the back nine would need to be similar if we were going to have any chance.” While the team did run into some trouble on the back nine, so did all the other schools. The real standout performance on the back came from Ben Wittmer who went on a string of six pars and three bogies to shoot 39. “It was exactly what we needed,” said Popko. The putting and ball striking continued to go well for the team, and they ended up posting competitive scores for a 180 average on the second nine. Radintz shot 49 on the back to card a 99. Knops shot 48 to post a 91. Swenby shot 48 to post an
GLENWOOD CITY junior Ben Wittmer is shown hitting a tee shot during the WIAA Division 3 sectional golf tournament at Whispering Pines Golf Course May 30. Wittmer shot an 86. The Topper golfers tied Ladysmith for second and won a playoff to advance to the state meet for the second year in a row. —photo by Jacob Maes Photography
89. Wittmer’s 39 earned an overall 86 and Lamb was low man with a 45 on the back for 85.
As GC had been the fourth best team based on regional scores, they had to wait for five groups to finish to know their fate. As each group came in, it became clear that they might win the sectional title and might finish all the way down at third. When the groups all finished, the Hilltoppers ended up deadlocked at 351 with Ladysmith while Neillsville shot five strokes better. This resulted in a team playoff. Each player on the team would replay the last hole (18) and then each team would add together the four lowest scores. Wittmer played the hole and got a bogie. Lamb posted a bogie. Swenby scored a par. Knops earned par. Radintz then had a forty foot putt for birdie to win the team the competition. He put it within six inches. It was now up to Ladysmith. They missed their putt and the team ended up winning by one. As Popko would summarize, “the best thing about today was the team effort. Ian had a tough day but he delivered when he needed to in a very dramatic fashion. To see each of the guys counting on each other was excellent.”
Had Glenwood not won the playoff, no one individual shot low enough to move on. It was all or nothing and they delivered.
The Glenwood City Hilltopper golf team competed at state on Monday and Tuesday, June 5 and 6 at the illustrious Black Wolf Run in Kohler. They will be playing the meadows course and looking to improve on their position of eighth last year.
GLENWOOD CITY’S Gabe Knops chipped a shot on to the green during the WIAA Division 3 Cadott Golf Sectional at Whispering Pines Golf Course Tuesday, May 30. The senior finished with a 91 in the 18-hole tournament. —photo by Jacob Maes Photography