JULY/AUGUST 2008
Tournament News

AURORA HEALTH CARE CHAMPIONSHIP
Kim cranks out another win  on her way up the money list

On a tour populated with Kims and saturated with players from South Korea, 18-year-old Mindy Kim has separated herself from the pack during the first half of the 2008 golf season.

On the first day of June, Kim, a native of South Korea who lives in Diamond Bar, Calif., won the Aurora Health Care Championship at Geneva National GC in Lake Geneva by three strokes for her second consecutive title on the Duramed Futures Tour. Perhaps most impressively, both victories were of the wire-to-wire variety.

Holding the lead for six consecutive rounds spells dominance, whatever the tour, and Kim left Lake Geneva atop the tour money list with $32,172 in earnings through the tour’s first seven events.

For the week, Kim shot 68-72-73–213 and won $14,000. Tied for second at 216 was the quartet of Kristen Samp of Moberly, Mo.; Leah Wigger of Louisville, Ky.; Sarah-Jane Kenyon of Queensland, Australia and Briana Vega of Andover, Mass. The four runners-up each took home $6,580.

“It takes a little bit of luck to win tournaments, and I definitely had that,” Kim said after winning on the Palmer Course at Geneva National. “But I feel really fortunate at this age to be winning and putting myself in contention.”

Kim began the final round with a two-stroke lead and stretched it to three with a birdie on the par-4 first hole.

“It meant a lot to jump-start my day with a birdie,” she said. “The scoring conditions were perfect, but I’d rather start lousy and play better toward the end. I had too many three-putts on the back nine.”

Kim played solidly throughout the final round, but she needed 33 putts to negotiate the Palmer Course’s putting surfaces. One miss that looked potentially costly was a short lip-out on the par-4 15th hole, which reduced her lead over Kenyon to just two strokes with three holes to play. However, Kenyon gave the stroke back when she missed a short par putt of her own on the next green.

Kim parred in from there to seal the tournament.

The Duramed Futures Tour is the top developmental tour for women professionals and a final steppingstone to the LPGA Tour, so part of the fun of watching the tour is getting to know the latest young phenoms on the women’s golf scene. This year, phenom status has been attached to Vicky Hurst of Melbourne, Fla., who won her first Futures Tour title in April – just prior to her high school graduation. Hurst, who turned 18 in mid-June, eventually tied for 33rd at Geneva National after shooting 74-73-76–233. Hurst left Wisconsin in fourth place on the tour money list. (The top five players on the Futures Tour money list at season’s end get a full LPGA Tour exemption for the following season.)

Two Wisconsin college players made the field through a special qualifier for local amateurs. Molly Schemm of Fort Atkinson shot 74-75-84–233 and finished 74th. Schemm played impressively over the first 36 holes and was within the top 25 before struggling on the greens on the back nine Sunday. Schemm also lipped out putts on three consecutive greens down the stretch.

The other Wisconsin player in the field was UW-Madison athlete Kelsey Verbeten of Green Bay. Verbeten shot 75-84–159 and missed the 36-hole cut.

WSGA MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Schwab prevails at Lawsonia

When college golf teammates – not to mention roommates – face off in a summertime competitive setting, it goes without saying that a little trash talk will be heard before, during or after the match.   

So the chatter circulated among the three Marquette University players who advanced to the semifinals of the Wisconsin State Golf Association Match Play Championship, presented by TaylorMade, was hardly a surprise. But two of the three MU players – Dustin Schwab and Ben Sieg – actually made a wager on the outcome of their semifinal match. Not for cash, for caddie services.

Schwab, of Lake Wisconsin CC in Prairie du Sac, defeated Sieg, his roommate at MU who plays out of Osseo R&GC, in their semifinal match on June 12. In addition to bragging rights, the outcome also meant that Sieg had to caddie for Schwab in the afternoon title match, which Schwab also won to earn the Match Play title.

“There was a lot of trash talk before we played,” Schwab said of his match with Sieg, “because the one that lost had to caddie in the final match. It was a of of fun.”

Schwab, 21, had the most fun of anyone in the tournament field when he dispatched Ben Bendtsen III of The Racine CC, 3 and 2, in a rain-delayed championship match on the Links Course at the Golf Courses of Lawsonia in Green Lake. Schwab took a 1-up lead in his tight match with Bendtsen on the 10th hole with a par, and the 11th hole was halved with birdies. From there, Schwab made five pars to close out Bendtsen, who went 2 over par on the final five holes.

“I tend to make a lot of pars, which in some cases is good,” Schwab said. “I mean, on the tough holes, if you make par you’re going to win or tie the hole.”

Schwab identified the par-3 10th hole on the Links Course as key to his success during the week. By his own calculation, Schwab played the 209-yard par-3 in even par during the tournament, with one birdie and one bogey. He toured the course seven times during the tournament, and three of those rounds began on the 10th hole, allowing him to get off to a good start in his matches.

Bendtsen, however, looked to be the hottest player in the field as he mowed through his early matches. He was the medalist in the qualifying round that begins the State Match Play with an exceptional 6-under-par 66. Bendtsen had just one match that could be called a close one on his way to the final, that being a 2 and 1 quarterfinal victory over Danny Zimmer-man of Hawks Landing GC in Verona.

As hot as Bendtsen was all week, Schwab said the two-and-a-half-hour rain delay before the final match may have cooled off his opponent just enough for Schwab to sneak by.

“I could tell for the first eight holes he had some putts that if there wasn’t a rain delay they probably would have been in the dead center of the hole,” Schwab said of Bendtsen. “The greens just a got a little slower. I mean, I was doing the same thing, leaving putts just short, but I bet he would have made four, five more putts if it was earlier in the day.”

When asked about his early matches, Schwab admitted he had a tough battle down the stretch with Kevin Van Rossum of Naga-Waukee GC in Pewaukee in the third round. Schwab was 4-up with five holes to play before Van Rossum won the next three holes to tighten the match. Schwab won the 18th hole to defeat Van Rossum 2-up.

In his other matches, Schwab defeated Mike Patton of Mascoutin GC in Berlin, 3 and 2; Benjamin Shafer of Bristlecone Pines GC in Hartland, 6 and 5; Andy Hansen of Dretzka Park GC in Milwaukee, 4 and 3; and Sieg, 2 and 1.

Hansen was the runner-up in qualifying with a round of 67, one stroke behind Bendtsen. Austin Ehlenfeldt of Old Hickory GC in Beaver Dam was third at 68. Schwab finished in a five-way tie for sixth in the qualifier with a round of 70 and was seeded seventh in the 64-player match play bracket.

The third Marquette University player to reach the semifinals was Matt Haase of Brown Deer Park GC. Haase shot 75 in qualifying, but eventually lost his semifinal match to Bendtsen by the score of 6 and 5.

Hartland Arrowhead captured its second consecutive Division 1 team golf title in early June at the 2008 WIAA State Boys Golf Championships held at University Ridge GC in Verona. But as exciting as that news might have been in the Waukesha County area, the individual races in Divisions 1, 2 and 3 were even more interesting this year.

For starters, consider the play of senior Mike Battista of Madison West, who earned medalist honors in Division 1 after recording twin rounds of 70 for a 140 total. That tied for the second lowest score at boys state (Andy Hansen of Homestead shot 136 in 2006).

In the second round held on June 3, Battista set a fast pace when he chipped in twice on the front nine – first for eagle on the par-5 second hole, then for birdie on the par-5 ninth – to complete the front side in 3 under par. He recorded birdies on Nos. 13 and 14, and added three bogeys on the back to finish the tournament at 4 under par.

Despite that solid performance, Battista had a hard time shaking Brady Keegan of Eau Claire Memorial and playing partner Sam Frank of Kettle Moraine, who both finished two strokes behind. Keegan shot 71-71–142 and Frank shot 70-72–142. Jeff Grosse of of Brookfield Central was fourth at 71-73–144.

Battista said he was confident going into his second appearance at the state tournament, but only up to a point.

“I knew that if I played golf like I do recreationally with my friends and stuff, that I could put up the scores,” Battista said afterward. “But can you really expect to win the state tournament going into it?”

During the final round, Battista tried hard not to think about what was at stake.

“The second day, all of sudden I was playing for something,” he said. “That was the hardest part about the second day – trying to not worry about what was at stake and trying just to hit each shot.”

Battista will attend Coastal Carolina University in the fall, but not to play golf. Instead, he will put competitive golf aside for the time being and pursue a degree in the school’s golf business management program.

Meanwhile, the Division 2 and 3 individual titles were decided in sudden-death playoffs.

In Division 2, Madison Edgewood junior Cody Strang made birdie on the 18th hole to tie senior Mike Hesselman of Edgerton at 147. Hesselman shot a final-round 69 to make the playoff.

On the first playoff hole, University Ridge’s par-4 first hole, both Strang and Hesselman missed the fairway with their drives and had to lay up. Strang won the Division 2 crown when he hit the green and two-putted for bogey.

On the Division 3 level, junior Jake Nelson of Ladysmith also prevailed on the first playoff hole. Nelson (76-76–152) and Cuba City sophomore Eric Wolfe (77-75–152) tied for medalist honors, one stroke ahead of Wisconsin Rapids Assumption junior Joe Lownik (77-76–153). Nelson, who advanced to state as an individual qualifier each of the last three seasons, split the first fairway with his drive, then hit a gap wedge from approximately 110 yards to inside 8 feet, which he called “one of my best approach shots of the tournament.” After Wolfe missed his birdie putt, Nelson dropped his in the cup for the Division 3 title.

It doesn’t get much better than that for a high school golfer from small-town Wisconsin, but the real fun began when Nelson got home to Ladysmith, located in Rusk County.

“I got home and they had the fire trucks there to give me a ride through town,” Nelson said. “I got a lot of support. It’s been great.”

In team competition, Hartland Arrowhead (301-298–599) repeated as Division 1 champion with a hard-won victory over Madison Memorial (305-298–603). After a tight first round in which Arrowhead grabbed a share of the lead with Appleton East at 301, and in which only four strokes separated the top five teams, Arrowhead saw its top four players shoot in the 73-76 range to earn the championship.

Madison Memorial matched Arrowhead with the low team score of the tournament in the second round (298) thanks to balanced scoring of its own, but the Spartans settled for a runner-up finish.

Eau Claire Memorial finished third (304-308–612).

After finishing third in Division 2 last season, Appleton Xavier played the steadiest golf at University Ridge this year and took home the team title. Xavier shot 311-311–622 to defeat Madison Edgewood (312-314–626) by four strokes. In third place was last year’s runner-up Waukesha Catholic Memorial (319-309–628).

Eleva-Strum also finished third at state last year, but this time around the team shot 325-340–665 to earn the Division 3 title by six strokes over Sevastopol (334-337–671). Cambridge finished third at 353-327–680. r

Arkin is center of attention at boys state

The WIAA State Boys Golf Championship had an interesting look this year: One of the competitors was a girl. Eighteen-year-old Reedsburg Area High School senior Ellie Arkin became the first female golfer since Molly Schemm of Fort Atkinson in 2004 to qualify for the WIAA Division 1 boys individual championship after she won a sectional qualifier held at the Meadows at Sixmile Creek in Waunakee.  

Arkin did not disappoint in her appearance at state, finishing in a tie for 14th place after shooting 75-76–151 at University Ridge GC in Verona. Her score was 11 shots behind Mike Battista of Madison West, who earned medalist honors with an impressive 70-70-140 total. More important, Arkin’s strong play led Reedsburg to a fourth-place finish in team competition in the school’s first-ever trip to Division 1 state.

Arkin competed against boys high school players because her school does not field a girls golf team. The WIAA gave her the opportunity to compete fairly against the boys using tees approximately 15 percent shorter the tees the boys used.

“Our situation is one that if a girls program isn’t available to a girl then they are allowed to play on the boys team,” WIAA assistant director Tom Shefranski said. “And when they play on the boys team, we allow [the girls] a 15 percent decrease in yardage. We have found that that is something that complies with USGA regulations and creates a level playing field for the girls in order to compete in a fair manner against the boys.”  

Even with the 15 percent advantage, few girls have made it to state individual competition, according to Shefranski.

Fighting the nerves of being the center of attention during the week, Arkin stayed focused on the task at hand and shot a solid 75 in to open the competition. Her round included a marvelous birdie on the course’s finishing hole. But in the final round Arkin struggled from the start, shooting a 43 on the front nine.  

“I started out pretty rough (Tuesday); I wasn’t very confident, and I just wasn’t hitting the ball very well,” Arkin said. “In the end I just wanted to come back and give it the best I had.”  

And come back she did, firing an impressive 33 on University Ridge's heavily wooded back side, which tied for the best score on the nine holes by any player in the meet. Arkin’s back nine rally included birdies on two of the final three holes. “Ellie’s a gamer,” Reedsburg Area coach Mark Johnson commented. “(Her great back nine) shows what kind of competitor she is.”

Arkin hopes to use her experience at the state competition as an advantage this upcoming fall when she will attend the University of Wisconsin and play for the school’s women’s golf team, whose home course is University Ridge.  

“I am really excited about (playing for the UW)” Arkin said. “I really like the course out here. I will have to practice a little more on the front nine, but I really enjoy the back nine with all the woods and everything.”

— Jason Karnosky

After missing a short opportunity for birdie to win his second Wisconsin State Golf Association Bestball title on the finishing hole, Travis Meyer had no interest in letting down teammate Braden Mork twice.

On the first extra hole, Meyer hit a stunning approach shot to tap-in range to setup an easy birdie that their opponents, Jeff Berenz and Mark Klapperich of Whispering Springs GC in Fond du Lac, could not match.

Thanks to that fine approach, Meyer, of River Falls GC, and Mork, of Chippewa Valley GC in Menomonie, won the 2008 WSGA Bestball Championship, presented by Laser Link Golf, held at Hidden Glen at Bentdale Farms in Cedarburg. The second course used for stroke-play qualifying at the start of the tournament was Washington County GC in Hartford.

“I had a 4-footer on 18 to win the match and I kind of pulled my putt and didn’t make it,” Meyer said. “But Brady and I were still pretty confident. (On the first hole of the playoff) I skipped one back there to about 2 feet and that was that.”

The win gave Meyer his second WSGA Bestball title and the first for the Meyer-Mork pairing. Meyer’s first title came in 2004 with Neil Johnson as his teammate.

Meyer and Mork were a great pair all week, cruising through their first three matches to make the final despite their middle of the pack qualifying score of 140, which left them tied for 14th place. Matt Haase and Kelly Kretz, college teammates at Marquette University, qualified for the highest seed in the tournament with a 12-under-par 132 total, one shot better than Berenz and Klapperich who managed an 11-under 133.  

Meyer and Mork started the match-play portion of the tournament with a convincing 3 and 2 win over Nathan Colson and Jason Gaare of The Bog in Saukville. They followed that up with a 4 and 3 route of top-seeded Haase and Kretz and 3 and 1 victory over Dustin Schwab of Lake Wisconsin CC and Ben Sieg of Osseo G&RC. In the semifinals, Meyer and Mork got all they could handle from Cole Stark and Tyler Leis of Eau Claire G&CC, winning 1-up on the 18th to setup their appearance in the finals.

Strong play in the match play portion of the tournament was most likely due to Meyer and Mork’s familiarity with each other on and off the golf course. The duo spent the past two years playing on the golf team at UW-Green Bay together as teammates, and before that they grew up in towns just a short distance apart and played several times as high school opponents.

“I played with Brady a couple of times in high school – he was from Menominee, which is pretty close to me, and we played in the same conference together,” Meyer said. “Later he went to (UW-Green Bay) with me for a couple of years. We just have a good relationship and it was just a good match for me and him.”

Though Meyer lacked his usual cheering section of friends and family that helped him win the Wisconsin State Amateur title last year, he and Mork had a wonderful week just enjoying each other’s company as friends.

“Nobody could make it this week (from home), but the tournament was a lot of fun either way,” Meyer said. “We had fun together going out to dinner, hanging out. It was a good time.”

— Jason Karnosky