Cats’ Cordon comes through
John Cordon kept his cool.
As a result, the Libertyville junior is moving on.
Cordon took part in a playoff with McHenry’s Anthony Mertz during Tuesday’s Class 3A Warren regional at Bittersweet Golf Club in Gurnee, after both golfers shot an 87 to tie for 10th place.
Cordon prevailed by sinking a 10-foot par putt on the third playoff hole, while Mertz settled for bogey. Cordon advanced to next Monday’s St. Viator sectional at Old Orchard Country Club.
“It was crazy. There was a lot of pressure, said Cordon, who won the playoff on the 437-yard par-4 18th hole. “There were a heck of a lot of nerves with the number of people watching (on the last putt).
Lake Forest shot 299 to win the regional, while Mundelein (321) edged Carmel Catholic (325) for second. All three teams advanced to the sectional.
Lake Forest’s Charlie Marshall earned medalist honors by firing an even-par 72, including a 34 on the back nine. Teammate Joe Willis was a shot back (73).
Carmel’s Brian Miller and Mundelein’s Sean Forsythe each shot 74s to tie for third, and Perry Johnson of Lake Forest posted a 75, good for fifth.
“I’m a little disappointed because I was 3-over on the last two holes, said Forsythe, who was 2 under for the first 10 holes.
“Overall, I thought I played real well. I hit the ball great on the front nine and hit every fairway and every green. I was a little too nervous over the last couple of holes.
Mundelein moved on for the second time in school history.
“I’m happy to see us advance, Mundelein coach Todd Parola said. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we had a good week of preparation.
“We need a better week of preparation going into the sectional. But the bottom line is, we advanced and did it as a team. I believe we’ve got more in the tank than we showed. Hopefully, we can empty it come Monday.
Mundelein Grant Heelan shot a 78, while Eric Nelson came in with an 81.
Brett Cigelnik and Dave Krueger had matching rounds of 88 for the Mustangs.
Carmel was led by Miller’s 74.
Tommy Schofield shot an 83 for the Corsairs, while teammates Mike Wilkinson and Doug Meyer each checked in with rounds of 84.
“Bittersweet is a tough golf course, Carmel coach Jim Nolan.
“There was tough competition. We’re just happy to advance. Our sectional will be tough. Old Orchard is very Bittersweet-like. Hopefully this was a good tuneup for Old Orchard.
The other individual qualifiers in the regional competition included McHenry’s Riley Lindholm (76), Warren’s Brian Sears (77) and Michael Grum (78), Zion-Benton’s Keith Torola (78) and Jackson Ludlow (78), Libertyville’s Alex Quenan (81), McHenry’s Paul Damiani (83), Warren’s Adam Glogovsky (85) and McHenry’s Willy Stastny (85).