WW South shows its depth
Wheaton Warrenville South senior Amy Wood drained a 35-foot putt for birdie to polish off a 43 Thursday afternoon at Arrowhead Golf Club.
For the vast majority of girls golf programs, the 7-over-par effort would figure prominently in the final team score. But the Tigers are no ordinary program.
WW South was razor sharp against Glenbard East, making the Rams' milestone appearance - their first official DuPage Valley Conference dual meet - in Wheaton a less-than-memorable experience.
The 43 turned in Wood was not even needed as Emily Johnson tied her career-low round with a 2-over-par 38, followed closely by Sarah Skurla, Renee Solberg and Mallory Glanzman with a 39, 41 and 42, respectively. WW South improved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the league with its 160-231 victory over Glenbard East (0-5, 0-1), in its second year of existence after playing an exhibition-only conference schedule last season.
"It's good to see everyone else play well," Wood said.
Johnson played her final four holes in the red to snare medalist honors by a stroke over Skurla.
"I was kind of hoping to shoot under 40, and the birdie (on the par-5 eighth hole) really helped that," Johnson said. "I didn't have that many bad shots."
When the sophomore did misfire, though, recovery was the order of the day.
"Even when (Johnson) had a bad shot, she would come back to make a great par," said Glanzman, her playing companion.
Skurla, the Tigers' three-year varsity starter and No. 1 player, left the fourth hole in a foul mood after an uncharacteristic double bogey left her 3 over for the day. But the junior rebounded with clutch par saves at the fifth and sixth holes, and her putter reached scalding levels on her next two holes.
"They saved momentum," Skurla said of the conversions. Skurla snaked home a 40-footer for birdie on No. 7, but consecutively played poor pitches on the par-5 eighth had her staring at bogey as she lay 10 feet off the green in four.
But Skurla negotiated the fairway brilliantly, reading the left-to-right putt perfectly as it gently struck the pin and dropped straight down.
"Those two putts saved me," Skurla said. "Without them (my score) would have been 3 or 4 strokes higher."
Skurla had to settle for a 39, though, after a treacherously fast downhill birdie putt on the last got away.
Glenbard East senior Sara Niemann started off par-par for the Rams, and her team-best 51 was solidified by a deft sand save for par at the last. Michele Graham, Mia Pagliuca and Kenna Paxson were the Rams' other contributors.
"It was a good experience for our girls to play against one of the best teams in the state," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said. "We are so much better than we were a year ago, even though our record doesn't show it."