Boys golf: Isenhart, Geneva sizzle to another tournament title

Tyler Isenhart belies his status as a sophomore.

The Geneva underclassman was the Upstate Eight Conference River Division champion as a freshman at the boys golf league tournament last year.

The state tournament later loomed for Isenhart, and his second year in the sport has been even more electrifying.

Saturday afternoon at the 23-team Charger Invitational at Randall Oaks in West Dundee, Isenhart continued the Vikings' winning ways, firing a 3-under par 68 to lead Geneva to another dominant win.

Geneva broke its program record on a par-71 layout with its 290 total.

"It's not fair," said Benet senior Austin Feldman, who would have forced a playoff with Isenhart for medalist honors if not for a 2-stroke penalty incurred for removing a loose impediment in a hazard.

Benet was runner-up with an even 300.

Jacobs bested Lake Park for the third team trophy on a fifth-card tiebreaker after the two schools tied at 301.

York was fifth at 302.

"I would say that this is (my) second-best (round) to Limestone," Isenhart said after winning his third tournament this season. "I had a few putts fall. Through 13 holes (on the shotgun start), I was 1-under. Then I made two birdies in a row. That was the highlight."

Isenhart would play his final holes in level par to accentuate his victory.

Geneva senior Andrew Abel has been equally impressive this fall for the Vikings.

"We're all playing really good golf right now," Abel said after becoming one of five players to shoot lev el-par or better to finish in fifth place. "I had a bogey on my 16th hole and really wanted to finish at even (par)."

Abel did just that by carding back-to-back red numbers to finish at level-par 71.

Geneva suffered its only defeat of the season last week at the Batavia Invitational.

"They came into this event really hungry," Geneva coach Eric Hatczel said of his players. "We kind of had a wake-up call; we didn't play so well at Batavia. That kind of set them in their place a little bit. It got them hungry."

Isenhart bested Northwestern recruit Ethan Farnam of Prairie Ridge for top individual honors by a stroke.

Jacobs received a pleasant surprise from the bottom of its lineup to snare the third team title.

Garrett Tighe and Riley Coakley were in their customary spots for the Golden Eagles from the top-two slots.

But Daniel Leitner was the difference for Jacobs' razor-thin victory over Lake Park.

"I thought I played very well," Leitner said. "It was windy out there. I thought I was able to hit the ball pretty well, despite (the conditions)."

Seventy-three was necessary to garner a top-10 finish, and Leitner had the last of the four players to hit the number to earn such an honor.

Cary-Grove senior Zach Beaugureau and Abel were the two players to fire an even-par 71.

The Trojans' top player was sixth overall after the tiebreaker was applied.

"My short game was great," Beaugureau said. "I only had 28 putts. My chipping and putting really helped me a lot."

Despite having it four players average 75 shots, Benet had to settle for runner-up by 10 strokes to Geneva.

"We have nothing to be ashamed of," Benet coach Marty Gaughn said. "Three hundred is a great score. If we could play like this in a couple of weeks, we would give ourselves a great chance to win a conference championship and hopefully do some damage in the state tournament."

Feldman made mincemeat of the par 5s, including an eagle from 10 feet away on the final hole of the front nine.

"It was the par 5s (that was the difference)," Feldman said. "I played very well. I putted really well."

The Redwings' Jack Neenan was seventh overall with his 2-over 73.

Lake Park also had four players in the 70s as Jake Dianovsky, Luke Tytus and Al Green were at 76 to complement the play of Zach Place, who shot a 73.

"There were a lot of short par 4s (on the course)," Place said. "I drove two of them and almost made eagle on both. I made 6 birdies but made a few shots that cost me. Overall, it was a great day."

York senior Tom Manning edged Feldman for third overall on the scorecard playoff with the fourth under-par round of the day.

"It's my first time this year (breaking par in a tournament), so it's nice to get back there," said Manning, who also finished with a 70. "Fairways and greens are what I focused on today. It was a solid round."