Geneva, St. Edward's Holevas master windy Elgin Country Club
How windy was it at the Elgin Country Club Golf Course Tuesday?
Just after the start of the Country Club Invitational, part of a tree fell between the eighth tee and the seventh green. Fortunately no one was hit, but a dead ball area had to be marked out for the 18-hole tournament.
"That wind was something else," said longtime Geneva coach Bill Koehn. "I'm not sure I've seen a tournament played in a wind like that before."
So one can't blame Koehn for being especially pleased with his team's performance on the tight tough course. Led by a 4-over par 76 from senior standout Andrew Cisco, the Vikings shot a very respectable 312 to beat runner-up Barrington by 4 shots. The Vikings' score was 7 shots better than last year when they finished second to St. Charles East.
"Not a bad job," Koehn said. "We haven't been playing that well lately so it's nice to get back on track."
Jacobs finished third with a 327, while St. Edward junior Michael Holevas was the individual champion with an even-par 72. Jacobs senior Scott Cahill, who shot 72 to win the event last year, was second with a 74 and Barrington's Greg Conrad took third in a scorecard tiebreaker with Cisco after both finished at 76.
But it was Geneva's consistency that earned the Vikes their championship trophy.
Sophomore Colin Lillibridge had a 77, junior Bill Gregory shot 79 and senior Ben Kale 80 to lead Geneva to the championship.
"Lillibridge is a sophomore who has been playing some real solid golf," said Koehn. "He doesn't have a lot of experience so I was a little concerned about him today on this course. He has a nice game. He's not real long but he's straight and when he gets his putter going he can shoot a good score.
"Gregory is a returning sectional qualifier who has been a work in progress. He didn't get off to the greatest start but he's starting to come around at the right time. And Ben has been playing some solid golf. He said the wind bothered him a little today."
The wind didn't seem to bother Holevas, the St. Edward junior who is an Elgin CC member that finished tied for second at last year's event.
"It was a good day," Holevas said. "You just have to stay patient and you can't get ahead of yourself or down on yourself. The wind can do wonders to a golf ball. You just have to stay patient and keep plugging away.
"I putted lights out today. I putted real well. The greens were already firm and fast. The wind added to it and made the short putts tougher."
Cahill, who will play his collegiate golf at Miami of Ohio, acknowledged the toughness of the day.
"I did the best I could," he said. "Once you make a couple of bogeys and no birdies the score goes up. It was tough. The course is tree-lined and you have to find a way to shoot good shots. I felt relatively comfortable for the most part."
Sean Kozak had an 81 for the Golden Eagles, who also counted an 84 from Buzz Amann and an 88 from Devin Sloma.
In addition to Conrad's 76, Barrington counted 79s from Nick Schiavi and Marc Ackermann and an 82 from Mike Stathakis to finish second in the 15-team field.
Burlington Central freshman Matt Weber tied St. Edward senior Eric Winters for the fifth best score of the day with 78. St. Edward shot 339 to take fifth place while Burlington Central was sixth with a 345.
Bartlett, despite not having an individual in the Top 10, shot a 330 to finish fourth. Ryan Wolfe and Ryan Starks each shot 81 to lead the Hawks.