Garden City finishes as Jayhawk Runner-up
By Mike Pilosof
Wichita, KS-Isaac MacNaughton saved his best golf for the last conference tournament of the year.
The freshman finished fifth with a 6-over par while his team came in second at the 2021 Jayhawk Conference Championships at Sand Creek Station Golf course.
"Isaac started off really well," Head Coach Phil Terpstra said. "He was strong in all three rounds, but his start really got us going."
MacNaughton tallied a 69 in the opening round on Sunday, dropping three birdies on the front nine. But nothing was more impressive than what he did on the par-5 fourth, a 521-yard maze that the freshman navigated successfully to hit the green in three. That was followed by a 12-foot putt and a fist pump. MacNaughton added one more birdie on the back before he parred seven of the final nine holes.
"Isaac had a good feel for the course," Terpstra added.
That 3-under, 69 had him tied with Hutchinson's Harry Crockett for first place after 18. But his four-over 76 in the second, which was followed by a 77 in the third, pushed him seven strokes back of the Blue Dragons' second-best golfer.
"We just weren't very strong, as a team, on the final nine holes," Terpstra explained.
Philip Stjernlof and Oliwer Toiminen tied for eighth at 9-over with the former shooting 75 in all three rounds. He tapped in two birdies in the second and overcame a slugging front-nine in the third to shoot 3-under on the back, tapping in birdies on 11, 14 and 17. Toiminen shot rounds of 74, 74, and 77. He finished the tournament with back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18.
"Overall, I'm pleased," Terpstra said. "It wasn't one guy carrying us, but more of a collective effort."
Adam Samnegard continued his sensational spring with an 11th-place finish at 10-over, responding from a so-so opening frame where he was 5-over, to shoot rounds of 74 and 75 to close it out. More impressively, he shook off a triple bogey in the third by dropping in birdies on three of the next eight holes.
Meantime Guilherme Oliva finished 23rd at 20-over and Alexander Silfwergard was 24th at 21-over.
"I think this gives us a little momentum going into districts," Terpstra stated. "It's going to be a challenge."
Hutchinson's Charlie Crocket won the individual title at 5-under par while the Blue Dragons ran away with the team championship at 4-over.
Next up: District 3 Championships at Crestview Country Club (Wichita, KS)