The Emporia High golf team nearly mastered the Auburn Hills Golf Course on a wind-whipped day in Wichita on Monday in its quest for a State championship.
That is, except for one hole.
The par-5 ninth hole at Auburn Hills proved to be the Spartans’ nemesis in their pursuit of a State title, as Emporia’s top four finishers turned in scores of par, double bogey, triple bogey and quadruple bogey on the hole, and EHS finished a mere two strokes back of St. Thomas Aquinas to place second as a team.
“I don’t want to say one hole killed us,” EHS coach Rick Eckert said, “but we left some strokes out on the ninth hole that really hurt us.”
Emporia finished with a team score of 332, while St. Thomas Aquinas shot a 330. Kapaun Mt. Carmel was third with a score of 339.
“Second place is good,” said Fletcher Harder, who finished third individually with a 5-over 77 to lead EHS. “We didn’t shoot well, but no one else did either. It’s just a really tough course.”
Bren Fisher closed with an 83 and finished second in a three-man playoff for the 8-9-10 spot to finish 9th, while Eric Reimer, Jared Johnson and Matt McAnarney all shot an 86 to tie for 20th place with five other golfers. Zach Young carded a 97 to round out the EHS finishers.
“Overall, I think we shot fairly well,” Eckert said. “The wind was strong, the pin positions were tough and the greens were fast, and everybody struggled out there today, not just us.”
With a lake lining one side of the ninth hole — “We donated a lot of balls to help fill up that lake,” Eckert said — and a strong south-southeastern wind blowing all day long, the Spartans perhaps saw their chance at a State title slip away with each errant shot on the final hole of the front nine.
Harder was at 1-under par when he teed off on the ninth. After a shot into the lake and what he called “several other bad shots,” Harder left the hole with a double bogey to put him at 1-over at the turn into the back nine.
“That was a huge hole,” Harder said. “I could have easily shot two strokes better. It’s kind of upsetting.”
From then on, Harder said he only hit his driver once off the tee “just to keep the ball in play” to try and salvage his round. He lost four more strokes on the hazard-filled back nine, and finished one shot behind champion Max Lazzo of Kapaun Mount Carmel and Dan Ritz of Bishop Miege, as each shot a 4-over 76. Lazzo defeated Ritz in a playoff to win the individual title.
“I’m pleased with a third-place finish,” Harder said. “I think I could have shot a little better, but it was a tough day.”
It was the third runner-up finish for the Emporia High boys golf team at the State tournament since 2001.
“We had a pretty good day on a pretty tough golf course,” Eckert said. “We just didn’t make all the necessary adjustments to win it all.”
Emporia could be considered a favorite to win the title next year, as Monday’s State tournament was the final round for just one Spartan senior — Jared Johnson.
State Tournament
Class 5A
At Auburn Hills G.C. — par 72
Team Scores
1. St. Thomas Aquinas 330 (Jimmy Clifford 79, Ben Fitzpatrick 80, Parker Gates 85, Phil Scheuerman 86, A.J. Federes 87); 2. Emporia 332 (Fletcher Harder 77, Bren Fisher 83, Eric Reimer 86, Jared Johnson 86, Matt McAnarney 86, Zach Young 97); 3. Kapaun Mount Carmel 339 (Max Lazzo 76, Thomas Lahey 85, Blaine Broderick 89, A.J. Gebert 89, Rob Lippold 90, Keith Wyss 91); 4. McPherson 340-86; 5. Bishop Miege 340-91; 6. Salina South 344; 7. Bishop Carroll 353; 8. Arkansas City 357; 9. Shawnee Heights 358; 10. Hays 361; 11. Topeka West 389; 12. Lansing 406.
Individual Medalists
1. Max Lazzo, Kapaun Mount Carmel, 76; 2. Dan Ritz, Bishop Miege, 76; 3. Fletcher Harder, Emporia, 77; 4. Jimmy Clifford, St. Thomas Aquinas, 79; 5. Kevin Quinley, Salina South, 80; 6. Ben Fitzpatrick, St. Thomas Aquinas, 80; 7. Brandon Long, Arkansas City, 82; 8. Rob Carlson, Topeka Seaman, 83; 9. Bren Fisher, Emporia, 83; 10. Evan Holcomb, Hutchinson, 83; 11. (tie) T.J. Holgerson, McPherson, 84; Thane Ringler, Hutchinson, 84; 13. (tie) Treg Fawl, McPherson, 85; Joe Reber, McPherson, 85; Parker Gates, St. Thomas Aquinas, 85; Caleb Childs, Bishop Carroll, 85; Thomas Lahey, Kapaun Mount Carmel, 85; Nate Stucky, Newton, 85; Nick Seiler, Bishop Carroll, 85; 20. (tie) Eric Reimer, Emporia, 86; Jared Johnson, Emporia, 86; Matt McAnarney, Emporia, 86; Audrey Yowell, McPherson, 86; Daniel Borgen, McPherson, 86; Phil Scheuerman, St. Thomas Aquinas, 86; David George, Salina South, 86; Taylor Ashpole, Valley Center, 86.