Girls golf: Furtney (65), St. Charles North rule Upstate Eight
Megan Furtney has unquestionably placed her name in the conversation as a potential champion at the Class AA girls golf state tournament next month.
"I am 19-under (par) for my last 54 holes," the gifted St. Charles North sophomore said after making mincemeat of storied St. Andrews Golf & Country Club Monday at the Upstate Eight Conference Tournament on Monday.
Furtney, fifth in state as a freshman last fall, drove the green five times on par 4s as part of her 8-birdie barrage in West Chicago.
"I would just 2-putt for birdie," Furtney said.
The North Stars' standout blistered St. Andrews with a 6-under 65 in what is believed to be a tournament record.
St. Charles North has aspirations of a storybook season after completing an undefeated conference run with a 293.
Reagan Stanton was fourth overall with a 75 and Kate Lillie was fifth with a 76 for St. Charles North.
Sophomores Emma Hayes and Sarah Arnold both had 77s to complete the North Stars' 22-shot victory over St. Charles East.
Batavia (333) was third, followed by Geneva (339), the South Elgin-Bartlett co-op (390), West Aurora (410), Glenbard East (411) and West Chicago (461).
"It was all kind of a blur," Furtney said of her round. "Confidence-wise, I just knew that every putt within eight feet I was going to make."
Furtney was mortal on the par-5 14th hole.
"I actually 3-putted for par," Furtney said. "It was a really hard pin placement, so I wasn't too upset about it."
St. Charles East defending league MVP Rose Bundy was a distant runner-up with a 72.
"I was playing with someone who was driving greens and making birdie on every hole," Bundy said of Furtney. "It wasn't easy."
Stanton is a former St. Charles East golfer.
"I was super ecstatic on how I was playing," Stanton said. "Everything was just going right from fairways to greens. If I had a miss on a shot, I would hit it close and knock it in (for par)."
Lillie had a peculiar day.
"I didn't have a single birdie today," Lillie said. "I wasn't able to hit the ball as well as I wanted to. My putting wasn't what I wanted either."
But the Minnesota-bound senior spoke too soon. She converted a five-footer for birdie on the first playoff hole to edge Bundy for player of the year in the league.
Irish Whalen inherited a dream crew two years ago at St. Charles North.
"The girls are very, very talented," the North Stars' coach said. "They work really, really hard. They are so competitive as individuals and as a team we're just looking forward to the postseason."
Bundy and fellow all-conference selections Nicole Jordan (76) and Riley Sullivan (81) paced St. Charles East.
"I came in here and wanted to practice for the postseason," Bundy said. "(Last) Saturday (a 1-under 71 at Naperville North) makes me think I'm really going in the right direction."
Geneva junior Darby Lillibridge was third with a 73.
"This is definitely my best-round ever," Lillibridge said. "Today was, overall, such a really good day. Everything was working really well. I kept a really positive attitude."
Madi McCoy was ninth with an 80 to lead third-place Batavia.
"I'm pretty happy with the way I played," McCoy said. "There were a couple of holes I wish I could go back and replay."
Sam Katsikas' first all-conference season for Glenbard East came to fruition when the senior led the Rams with a 94.
"Today was a little rough," Katsikas said. "The conditions were tough for me. I had to get some of those double bogeys out of my head."
Sarah Dzieza was the only other Glenbard East player to break three figures.
"The sport (of girls golf) has really taken off," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said. "We have had our program for nine years now. We are getting better. (Katsikas) has worked really hard for the last four years."
Collette Castelluccio was the low performer for West Chicago.