Boys golf: Tricky conditions make for tough day in Algonquin

That’s because most of the players coming off the course at the 1A Westminster Sectional expressed that they might as well sell theirs. 

Wind, cool temps, a late start because of frost and a tough course led to high scores ... and broken dreams and bruised egos for much of the field. When it was over – after a six-person playoff for the last state qualifying spot – three local golfers had survived to play in this weekend’s state golf meet at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington. 

North Shore Country Day dominated the meet with a score of 313. Byron was second at 339. They had three of the four scores under 80, including medalist Andrew Bedford at 75. 

The other score under 80 was by Eastland’s Devin Hartman at 78. 

“You just had to play smart today,” Hartman said. “You had to be sure not to blow any putts. I came in with a lot of confidence. We played a practice round Sunday, and then on the way home stopped at the girls sectional course in Genoa. We had time while we waited for them to finish, so we played nine holes and I shot a 37.”

Hartman, a junior, didn’t get disrupted as much as others by a delay to the meet because of frost. A phone call from his coach let him and teammate Casey Fritz know to sit tight. Fritz missed the cut with a 91. 

“We just stayed inside and watched TV for a while longer,” Hartman said. “Then we got here on time and loosened up, so that didn’t bother us much.” 

Hartman will be making his first appearance at the state meet, as will Morrison’s Reid Hoffman, who missed the cut by a stroke in 2011.

Hoffman scored an 85 on Monday and then waited anxiously to see if that would be good enough for state. 

“After missing by a stroke last year, I was nervous that it was going to happen again,” Hoffman said. “I was so sure that I didn’t make.”