CHENEY — Iola High sophomore Kaden Macha exited the 18th green at Cherry Oaks Golf Course Monday with his hopes dashed. MACHA’S DAY settled down following a rough start. He bogeyed the second and third holes to settle in at 2-over for the front nine. THE VICTORY sets up what could be a budding rivalry between Macha and Chugg, both of whom are sophomores. Iola’s team score of 335 placed the Mustangs in a tie for 11th with Larned, although the Indians got the tie-breakers because of the lower score among each team’s fifth-place golfer. The competition was tight and fierce. Iola was five strokes away from a top-seven finish. Kaden Macha 38-34—72
“Coach told me I was losing by two strokes,” Macha said. “I think it was to keep me focused.”
Not necessarily, Iola golf coach Doug Kerr noted.
“I wasn’t sure, and somebody told us as we were on the last hole that one of the other kids had shot a 70,” Kerr said. “I just told him not to worry about that. He just needed to do what he could do.
Instead, Macha’s even par 72 at the Class 4A State Golf Tournament was enough to put him in a three-way playoff with Wichita Collegiate’s Camron Chugg and KC Piper’s Montana Fasching for the individual title.
The playoff ended after the first hole. Macha reached the 488-yard No. 1 hole in two shots — the second, a beautiful 4-iron from more than 200 yards away. The approach was close enough to two-putt for par. Both Chugg and Fasching missed the green on their second shots, forcing them to chip. Both were left with putts of about eight feet to tie Macha.
Neither did, giving the title to Macha.
“It was a little hard not to smile when they missed those putts,” Macha admitted afterward.
A crowd of about 30 spectators, including Macha’s parents and teammates, were on hand.
Kerr was among them, dousing Macha with a container of water — his personal “Gatorade Bath.”
“I wasn’t expecting that, either,” Macha said.
Other Iola golfers competing at state were Shane Walden, who carded an 81 to tie for 40th; Adam Peterson, who tied for 73rd with an 87; Weston Hines, whose 95 was good for 94th place, one stroke ahead of Drake Dieker, who finished 95th; and Matt Jacobs, who shot a 101 to finish 100th.
“I didn’t get too frustrated because those are two of the toughest holes on the course,” he said.
The key was to contain the damage. Macha did so, parring the next 10 holes until delivering birdies on the 13th and 14th holes to get back to even par.
He finished the back nine with a 34, the lowest score of any golfer of the day for that stretch.
“The course really suited my game,” he said. “The greens were fast, but not too fast.”
That Macha was able to reach the green in two strokes on the playoff was sweet retribution.
“I had really struggled with my approach game all day,” he said. “My putting saved me.”
Kerr said Macha’s steely demeanor also played a role in his success.
“He doesn’t let anything faze him,” Kerr said. “I was standing next to his father and grandfather, and they were on pins and needles.”
Macha defeated Chugg by a single stroke at last week’s regional tournament in El Dorado.
“I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other down the road,” Macha said.
“We’re a little disappointed we didn’t get a top five team score, but there were several schools within a few strokes of each other,” Kerr said. “But we’re setting in pretty good shape, because we’ll have this whole team back next year, and everybody but Weston the year after that.”
Collegiate won the team title with a score of 299, ahead of KC Piper’s 305.
Shane Walden 41-40—81
Drake Dieker 48-48—96
Adam Peterson 42-45—87
Matt Jacobs 50-50—100
Westion Hines 44-51—95
Macha nabs state title
