Garske, Patriots rise to the top, win NSC title

Players on the PGA and LPGA Tours could learn a lesson about playing in bad conditions from the competitors at Monday's North Suburban Conference girls golf tournament at Deerpath Golf Course.

The rain started about eight or nine holes into the shotgun start. As the rain fell, the temperature dropped accordingly. Pretty soon, there was standing water on some of the greens.

So how did Stevenson senior Kaitlin Garske react?

"It doesn't help to get mad," said Garske, who seemed to have a smile frozen on her face. "I got my umbrella and was ready to go."

Garske's 7-over-par 79 earned her medalist honors by 1 stroke over Lakes' Abbie Horan and helped Stevenson win its second consecutive conference championship. Stevenson (344) enjoyed a 35-stroke cushion over second-place Lake Forest.

"This one is especially sweet because we've never had an individual conference champion before," Patriots coach Andrew Conneen said.

Garske quickly developed confidence in her ability to play in the rain when she drained a 30 footer at No. 10. When she arrived at the 17th tee, Garske was well aware that she needed two more pars to break 80.

The key shot on the par-4 17th came when her 132-yard 8-iron approach came to rest comfortably on the putting surface.

"I knew with the adrenaline flowing I had to take one less club," she said.

At the par-4 18th, Garske's approach shot came up just short and to the right. She chipped to about 10 feet and proceeded to drain the putt.

Conneen could tell early on that Garske would be able to handle the challenging conditions.

"She was hitting good shots and had great body language," he said. "She did a nice job of being consistent."

Stevenson also counted scores from Angelina Kim (84), Alex Kessler (87) and Sylvia Suh (94). Kim's score put her in fourth place, two strokes back of Lake Forest's Cally McGowan (82).

Kim said she concentrated as much as she could on the process and less on the final result.

"That helped me focus and fight through," she said. "I'm relatively happy."

With no thunder or lightning in the area, the decision was made to play through the rain. If play was suspended until Tuesday, it would mean the golfers would have missed additional school time.

"It was more of an education decision than a coaching decision," Conneen said. "We didn't want the kids to miss more class."

Suh, a junior, came through with her best round of the season. Suh also had played well during the Patriots' practice round Saturday at Deerpath.

"She was saying she never plays well the next day; I was kidding her that she must have played bad yesterday," Conneen said.

Suh credits her teammates for helping her shoot lower scores.

"I've improved a lot by playing with better girls," she said.

Horan was cruising along prior to the rain. She played her outward half in even par, with one birdie and one bogey. She hit eight of nine greens in regulation. Horan struggled on the back nine, but she came away from the round excited about next week's regional tournament.

"I'm going to forget about the 44," she said. "I know that I'm playing well and I feel good about my game."

Vernon Hills' Kirsten Groody (85) came in fifth. Teammate Erin Christensen also had a solid round (91) to help the Cougars (386) finish in third place.

As the conditions declined, Groody said she mentally adjusted what par should be.

"You just have to keep playing and realize that bogey is not a bad number," she said.

Libertyville (390) placed fourth and did not have to count a score higher than 102. Ashley Falasz (93), Marilyn Stone (97) and Athena Cocallas (98) all shot in the 90s.

Amanda Wright (96) led the way for Lake Zurich. Mundelein's Lauren Pierpont and Colleen Unger posted 97 and 98, respectively.