Photo by Adam Vogler
Emporia High’s Bren Fisher watches his approach shot to the ninth green during the Class 5A Regional golf tournament at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course on Monday. Fisher carded a 5-over 76 to win the individual title and lead the EHS golf team to the tournament championship and a State Tournament bid.
When Emporia High’s Bren Fisher had to account for the wind off the tee during his round on Monday at the Class 5A Regional at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course, he didn’t give it much thought.
But when he started having to account for the wind even on the greens, that’s when he knew it was a day like any other he’d had at the Municipal Course.
“It’s pretty tough when you have to play the wind on your putting,” Fisher said. “It was just really hard having to play the wind on every single shot. It was even hard to get the ball to stop on the green so we could putt.”
Considering Fisher carded a 6-over 76 to claim the Class 5A Regional individual title, he must have had the wind pegged — at least enough to get him a gold medal.
“I think I did pretty well handling everything,” Fisher said. “This was probably the windiest I’ve ever played here in Emporia. I just tried to stay calm and not let it affect me. It was tough, though.”
Fisher, who also won the individual Regional title last season, led the Emporia High golf team to a total score of 319, easily giving the Spartans the Regional team title to send EHS back to the State Tournament.
The Spartans had all four scorers in the top 10, with Fisher, Fletcher Harder and Eric Reimer finishing 1-2-3 in the individual standings. Harder came in second with a 7-over 78, while Reimer won a playoff against Shawnee Heights’ Alex Scheidegger to take third place with an 80.
Photo by Adam Vogler
Emporia High’s Fletcher Harder lines up a putt during the Class 5A Regional at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course on Monday. Harder carded a 7-over 78 to finish second individually.
“The wind was brutal,” Harder said. “I was really pleased with how I played on the back nine, though. Shooting a 78 with this wind is really not that bad. I’m just ready to get through this week of practice and hopefully go to State and see if we can win it.”
Zach Young rounded out Emporia’s team scorecard, as he finished ninth with an 85, helping EHS distance itself from the runner-up, Shawnee Heights (335). Matt McAnarney carded an 87 and Craig Morgan finished with a 94 to round out the Emporia field.
The victory allowed the Spartans claim the team Regional championship for the second year in a row, and the Spartans hope their victory — just the second of the season — propels them into next Monday’s State Tournament.
Emporia will head to Turkey Creek Golf Course in McPherson with a shot at redemption on the line. Last spring, the Spartans finished two strokes away from winning the State title at Auburn Hills in Wichita, as St. Thomas Aquinas won, 332-330.
With Fisher calling Turkey Creek “a similar course” to the Emporia Municipal Course, plus the fact that five of the six golfers EHS took to the State Tournament last year will make the trip again this year, the Spartans could be considered one of the teams to beat.
“We can take all those lessons we learned from last year’s second-place finish and use them,” Fisher said. “We want first place bad, and I think as long as we all keep our heads straight and focus on what we need to do this next week, I think we’ll be fine.”
Photo by Adam Vogler
Emporia High’s Matt McAnarney watches his approach shot to the ninth green during the Class 5A Regional tournament at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course on Monday.
Added Harder: “We’ve all been there at least three years now, so we’ve had the experience. Hopefully, we can put it all together and win a State championship.”
Class 5A Golf Regional
At Emporia Municipal GC (par 71)
Team scores (top three qualify for state)
Emporia 319, Shawnee Heights 335, Seaman 344, Topeka West 353, Mill Valley 379, Gardner-Edgerton 421.
Individual results
1. Fisher, Emp, 76; 2. Harder, Emp, 78; 3. Reimer, Emp, 80; 4. Scheidegger, SH, 80; 5. Burdiek, Sea, 81; 6. Theimer, TW, 83; 7. Deghand, SH, 83; 8. Carlson, Sea, 83; 9. Young, Emp, 85; 10. Jablonowski, SH, 85.
Individual qualifiers — Theimer, TW, 83; Bechard, TW, 87; Armstrong, MV, 90; Grimes, MV, 90-; Hower, TW, 90.
Other Emporia finishers — McAnarney 87, Craig Morgan 94.
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