Doug Kerr saw plenty of reasons for optimism on a cool, blustery Tuesday afternoon for Iola High’s golf team.
The Mustangs’ Kaden Macha recorded the best round of the day at the Iola Invitational, beating his nearest competitor by nine strokes.
Led by Macha’s 1-under-par 71, the Mustangs narrowly missed bringing home the best team score as well.
But visiting Fort Scott’s score of 334 was one stroke better than Iola’s 335 in the six-team competition hosted by the Allen County Country Club.
“I’m pretty happy with how we played,” Kerr said. “Any time you come out in weather like this and perform, you’ll be better for it.”
The elements had a definite effect on all of the teams, Kerr noted.
Cold temperatures have kept grass seed from germinating along several fairways, although the cool, damp ground kept the surface playable.
The weather has been so cold and wet that tournament organizers considered postponing the event before agreeing Tuesday morning playing conditions were acceptable.
Even so, Kerr noted Iola’s approach shots were consistently short, perhaps a product of the cold weather.
“We missed a lot of greens today, which hurt our scores,” he said.
Most importantly, it shows Iola where the team can improve.
For that matter, the Mustangs already have improved, despite practicing sparingly the past two weeks.
“We shaved 18 strokes off our team score from last week,” he noted.
Kerr said Fort Scott earned the top team score through consistency. The Tigers’ top four golfers all scored in the 80s.
“That’ll win you a lot of tournaments,” he said.
Iola’s Shane Walden took home sixth place individually with a score of 84. Drake Dieker finished ninth at 88. Weston Hines and Adam Peterson each carded 92s, good for a tie for 11th.
Matt Jacobs also recorded a score of 99, good for 22nd.
Dakota Hunt and Gage Tomlinson scored 102 and 131, respectively.
Team results:
Fort Scott, 334; Iola, 335; Independence, 353; Labette County, 381; Parsons, 397.
Individual results
1. Kaden Macha (35-36—71)
6. Shane Walden (41-43—84)
9. Drake Dieker (44-44—88)
11 (tie) Weston Hines (48-44—92)
11 (tie) Adam Peterson (48-44—92)
22. Matt Jacobs (49-50—99)
NA. Dakota Hunt (55-47—102)
NA. Gage Tomlinson (68-63—131)
Macha leads way on links
