Last week was a middle of the pack week for both the Husky boys and girls golf teams.
On Tuesday, both teams played league matches, with the Sweet Home boys finishing fourth in a six team match at Arrowhead and the girls finishing second in a five team match, though Kennedy and Cascade sent only a single golfer.
Both Sisters and Stayton, who has employed the use of a talented foreign exchange student, placed far ahead of the field in the boys’ opening league match. Sweet Home expects to vie for third in district with Molalla, though they trailed the Indians by 11 strokes in this event. Kenny Jones led the Huskies with an 82, a tie for eighth in the match. Jones once again hit every fairway but faltered slightly in his short game.
In the Sweet Home-Lebanon Invitational at Mallard Creek the next day, Jones was unable to compete due to a prior commitment. Without him, the Huskies took fourth place while Lebanon won the tournament. However, Sam Waller, in what coach Tom Horn called his best competitive match ever, was the medalist by one stroke with a 75.
“He managed his game very well and made no big errors,” said Horn.
Waller kept the ball in the fairway, hit greens in regulation, and two putted consistently. His only mishit came on the 14th hole, where he put his drive out of bounds but came back using one putt to card a bogey.
Sean McGuyre also played strong, shooting his lowest score ever, an 82, to finish ninth. Matt Zollman has played consistent bogey golf, having shot 89, 90, and 91 for his three rounds of the year. Overall, Horn was pleased with the boys’ efforts for the week as they march toward his goal of having a team that posts a combined score in the 320’s.
The girls finished second only to a strong Molalla team and beat their primary nemesis, Stayton, by 5 strokes. Kennedy and Cascade each had only one golfer but both were solid players, shooting in the mid-forties. Chelsea Gagner topped the Huskies but was disappointed after suffering major lapses on three consecutive holes, which caused her to soar to a 59.
Oakley Tyler opened with a disastrous 12 on the par 4 first hole and had one other bad hole, but otherwise played solidly, settling for a 60, which included a birdie on the last hole. Abby Knight played her best round of the year, also scoring a 60 with a more consistent round.
“They are all heading in the right direction,” said Horn, believing the team has the potential to compete at a much higher level if they can eliminate the big hole.
The girls had their first 18 hole match of the year at Mallard Creek on Tuesday while the boys competed at Langdon Farms. The boys continue a busy week with the Junction City Invitational at Shadow Hills on Friday and then a league match they host at Mallard the following Tuesday.