MEDFORD GOLF - Golfers, teams jockey for final positions in GNC standings
MEDFORD GOLF
Some team and individual places are coming into focus, but there is a little bit of shifting that still could take place as the Great Northern Conference golf season reaches its last two meets.
With their fifth-place finish in Tuesday’s fifth GNC meet of the season, the Medford Raiders appear destined to finish fifth in the final team standings. Keeping with the theme of fifth, Raider senior Connor Lingen tied for fifth place Tuesday at Mosinee’s Indianhead Golf Course, putting him in a battle for second place in the individual standings with last year’s GNC Golfer of the Year Jett Walters of Mosinee.
The Raiders shot a 353, up a bit from their recent stretch of improved play. With a 302, Lakeland is once again firmly in control of the team race. With a sevenpoint lead over Mosinee with two meets to go, the T-Birds are all but assured of a sixth straight GNC championship.
Mosinee fell to fourth Tuesday on its home course at 327, but the Indians still have a firm grip on second place overall with 28 points, five ahead of Rhinelander and six ahead of Northland Pines. Pines made a move Tuesday, finishing second with its score of 324, two shots better than the Hodags.
Tomahawk (368) and Antigo (386) were sixth and seventh, the places they are headed for in the final standings.
The GNC teams were scheduled to make up their meet in Antigo Wednesday and will finish things off today, Thursday, at Lakeland. That meet has been moved to Trout Lake Golf Course.
Lakeland’s Jack Rubo won his fourth straight meet individually with a second straight masterful round, this time a 5-under-par 67. Walters was 1-under at 71. Lingen tied Lakeland’s Gray Wagner for fifth with his 77. Walters now holds a half-point lead, 39.5-39, over Lingen for second place in the individual standings. Rubo is first at 49.
Lingen’s round Tuesday started on the course’s fifth hole and was solid early with birdies on the par-5 seventh and par-4 12th, along with three pars. Another birdie on the par-3 15th had him at even par through 11 holes. Five bogeys down the stretch put him five over, five strokes behind Ryder Will of Northland Pines and three behind Rhinelander’s Sam Schoppe. Raider senior Riley Viergutz tied Antigo’s Mitch Meyer for 15th. They shot 84s. Viergutz carded nine pars and a birdie on the par-3 13th. Senior Aidan Ball shot a 92 that included a birdie on the par-5 16th. Alex Wanke got a varsity spot for the day and shot an even 100 that included five pars. Cooper Klingbeil shot a 105.
After today’s GNC meet, Medford heads to the WIAA Division 1 Marshfield regional meet Tuesday at RiverEdge Golf Course. The meet starts at 9 a.m. with team pairings yet to be determined. Teams include Medford, Marshfield, D.C. Everest, Merrill, Rhinelander, Stevens Point, Wausau East and Wausau West. The top four teams and top four individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to sectional May 28 at Hudson.
GNC #4 Lingen placed third individually with a 3-over-par 74 during Medford’s fourth-place team finish at Friday’s Great Northern Conference meet hosted by Northland Pines at the Eagle River Golf Course.
Rubo’s round was the story of the meet as the Lakeland standout shot a 4-underpar 67 to win the meet by four shots over Walters, who was even at 71. Using the home course advantage, Northland Pines’ Samuel Shrock jumped into the GNC top 10 for the first time this spring, taking fourth, one stroke behind Lingen.
A string of three straight bogeys on holes 16-18 kept Lingen from challenging Walters for second. Otherwise, Lingen had one other bogey, 13 pars and a birdie on his last hole, the par-3, 162-yard seventh. He was 1-under on the course’s front nine with a 35.
Viergutz was part of a three-way tie for 14th with his 83. He was just 3-over-par on the front nine with a 38. Klingbeil had splits of 43 and 46 for an 89 on the 5,801yard course that tied for 22nd. Ball had three pars in his round of 90 that tied for 24th. Grant Neubauer was 26th with a 92 that included five pars.
Lakeland carded a team score of 305 to beat Mosinee by 12 shots and win the meet. Rhinelander was third with its 325. Medford’s 336 beat Pines by one shot to take fourth. Tomahawk (368) and Antigo (381) were well off the pace.
Antigo meet
On Monday, Medford got to test out Antigo’s Bass Lake Country Club in a four-team meet with the host Red Robins, Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Coleman. The scoring featured individual and twoman team best-ball elements.
Lingen and Neubauer had the top best-ball score at 68, while Viergutz and Klingbeil took second with their 73. Individually, Lingen’s 71 was the top round of the day while Viergutz shot a 76. Lingen’s round included a 5-under-par on the course’s back nine.
Medford’s team of Wanke and Fisher Thums added a best-ball score of 93.
