Rolling Meadows’ Wojtowicz rises to the task
Rolling Meadows golfer Dan Wojtowicz was just a little bit in awe after playing 18 holes with Glenbrook North sophomore Nick Hardy at Monday’s Rolling Green Invitational in Arlington Heights.
Wojtowicz watched Hardy shoot a tourney record 7-under par 65 to claim his second straight Rolling Green individual title — but the Mustangs junior was no slouch himself in this year’s kickoff meet.
Wojtowicz carded a 76 to tie for sixth place overall and claim a medal at the Hersey-hosted invite.
“I was almost more excited about watching him play than I was about my own score,” Wojtowicz said of Hardy, who at one point was 12-under par. “He’s just a great player.”
Glenbrook North won its fifth Rolling Green team championship with a 288, the best-ever team score at the invite. Loyola finished second while St. Viator had a strong showing, shooting a 314 to win the third-place trophy.
Stevenson junior Reed Aren joined in the tremendous day for area underclassmen by carding a 74 to take home the third-place individual medal.
“My round was all right — it could have been better, but then again it could have been worse,” said the modest Wojtowicz, who played consistently all day with “a bunch of pars.”
“Dan is a solid player,” added Meadows first-year coach Rob Bowers. “He’s completely committed to the game, and he practices harder than anybody I’ve ever seen. He lives and breathes golf, and he’s a nice kid who has a great influence on his teammates.
“He’s grown a lot over the summer and he’s become a long hitter. He consistenly hits the ball 280 or 290 off the tee.”
Three-time state champion Viator was led by a 75 by senior Frank Travaglio, good for the fourth-place individual medal.
“I played well,” said Travaglio, a 2-year varsity standout, who estimated he played in about 17 tournaments over the summer, including one at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington (the site of the state tourney) to prepare for this year’s prep campaign. “It was nice to be out there and hit every fairway.”
Prospect junior Ryan Maloney led the Knights (315) to a fourth-place finish with a round of 78, while Tyler Yarwood and Alec Dahlgren pitched in with 80’s.
Fremd finished at 319 as sophomore Josh Rosenzweig shot 78, while senior Nick Brandt of Schaumburg carded a 79.
Junior Jack Ferguson of Wheeling was outstanding with a 77, good for a tie for 10th place. Ferguson just missed out on taking home a medal on a scorecard tiebreaker.
The host Huskies played the most consistent team round of the day with all 6 competitors shooting 85 or under, led by Kyle Magnuson and Ryan Krebs, both with 82.
Stevenson also played a steady tournament, finishing fifth as Nick Giessler (77, tying for 10th individually), Tim Kim (82) and Tyler Golden (84) all joining Aren in contributing to the Patriots’ cause.
Aren, who worked extremely hard over the summer — competiing in 20 summer tournaments — said he wasn’t surprised by his strong showing at Rolling Green.
“I’ve improved by 20 yards off the tee over last year,” said Aren, who’s best summer score was a 70 at Spring Green in Wisconsin, an AJGA event.
The junior also said he feels that the Patriots overall have a great chance for success in 2011.
“It’s up to our top four,” added Aren. “We’ve got to go out and shoot well every time out.”