Lions, Carlson breeze
St. Viator golfer Joe Carlson got a big bear hug from coach Jack Halpin after sinking a 7-foot putt on the 18th green at Old Orchard Country Club.
There were 70 reasons why the sophomore deserved it.
On a day when windy conditions caused havoc with the scores, Carlson blew away the field at Tuesday's Class 3A Hersey sectional by shooting even-par 70 to take medalist honors by 4 shots.
Viator sophomore Danny Stringfellow was next best with 74 as the classmates led the Lions to the sectional victory with a score of 306 and a berth in this weekend's state tournament in Bloomington.
St. Patrick (315) also advanced as a team to the title tourney at the Den at Fox Creek Golf Course. Local competitors Erik Peterson and Sean Jones of Fremd, Buffalo Grove's Ryan McCullough and Dan Alsup of Rolling Meadows also qualified as individuals.
"I kept it out of the wind," said Carlson of his record-setting day as the first sectional champion in Viator history, a round that included an eagle on the 487-yard 15th hole where he sank a 30-foot putt.
Last year's Lions team finished second in state, but Carlson traveled as an alternate and didn't get to play. Now this year he'll be one of the keys for Viator at the finals.
"I couldn't find a spot for him last year -- dumb me," said Halpin. "If I could have, we probably would have won it last year."
"He's a solid player," said Fremd senior Peterson of Carlson, who he golfed with often over the summer. "I'm proud of how great he played today under these conditions."
Peterson advanced by shooting 79.
"I felt like I had to shoot 74 or better to qualify as an individual," said the senior. "Shows how much I know.
"With the wind and the way the holes were set up, this course was playing tough. I had to grind like crazy to shoot what I did."
Teammate Jones carded an 81 and Meadows junior Alsup shot 80.
BG's McCullough qualified by shooting an 81 despite taking two 7s and an 8 at the 6,187-yard, par-70 Mount Prospect course.
"With the conditions (today), you had to hit your driver and second shot to the right spots," said McCullough. "I played well, but I made some stupid mistakes. On (hole) 16, you can't miss -- and I missed."
"This is a difficult course," said Streamwood coach George Rosner, "and with the wind and the pin placements, it was playing tough."
Streamwood junior Garrett Eddy fired an 85 at Old Orchard.
"This was fun," Eddy said, "but the conditions were grueling. I played two practice rounds here, and I shot 77 and 75. I expected to shoot 75 or below today."
Dan Parks shot 82 to lead Hersey while Ben Many was best for Prospect with 83.
Konrad Deka of Leyden also shot 82 to just miss out on advancement.
Mike Ferrari (79) and Brad Klune (83) completed the Viator winning score as it won its ninth straight 18-hole tournament this season without a loss.
"This," said Halpin of his Lions, "was an incredible score."