MAYETTA — Despite the marathon day, Iola High School’s boys golf team finished in fourth place at the Class 4A State Golf Tournament.
“I think the tournament overall was really long and we struggled with the time references,” coach Doug Kerr said. “It was over a seven-hour tournament, so we’ll hang in there.”
With tee times starting at 8:30 a.m. at Firekeeper Golf Course, it wasn’t until 6 p.m. that all players completed the course. And that doesn’t include the playoff that Iola’s Shane Walden competed in after six golfers tied with a 76.
“I played pretty solid, I just hit a couple bad drives,” Walden said, about his play before the playoff. “It could have been better, I mean it could have been worse, too.”
If Walden would have birdied the 18th hole, he would have had a chance at placing in the top five. He took a chance and tried to drive the ball over rough. It didn’t work out, and he ended up shooting a 76, which resulted in the playoff that could have placed him anywhere between eighth and 13th place.
“Hopefully I win it. That’s the whole goal, going for everything,” Walden said before the playoff. He finished in 10th.
Kerr had high praise for Walden’s play.
“Outstanding,” Kerr said. “The last two rounds he’s been focused. He won the regional, came in here and played with all regional champions and held his own with a former state champion. He played his tail off and maybe this will be a kick-start for us next year.”
Iola’s Kaden Macha, last year’s Class 4A State Tournament winner, finished 22nd, shooting a 79.
“I didn’t play very well, that pretty much sums it up,” Macha said. “I just missed a lot of birdie putts, had some errant shots that led to one double bogey, then I got on a bogey train that I couldn’t get off of. I didn’t make putts and that just killed me.”
Overall, Iola shot 334 combined, good for fourth place. Westin Hines shot an 88, Adam Peterson and Matt Jacobs both shot a 91, and Drake Dieker shot a 95.
Topeka-Hayden won the tournament shooting a combined 314. Bonner Springs’ Marc McClain was the overall winner of the tournament, shooting a 69.
“We were one stroke from third and we actually had the tiebreaker on (Ottawa High School) if we tied them,” coach Kerr said. “We would have taken third by the tiebreaker. So, that’s disappointing but we moved on from 12th last year to fourth this year with five of the six kids coming back, which makes me feel really excited about next year.”
Macha hopes he’ll be back in his top form for next year’s state tournament.
“I definitely hope to play better next year,” Macha said. “I had a good season, I just didn’t end it very well.”
