Girls golf: Carden’s clutch putt helps Barrington edge Fremd for MSL title

Barrington golfer Teagan Carden did not know what was at stake with her putt for par at the 18th hole at Fox Run Golf Links on Thursday.

The Broncos’ junior lined up the sliding putt in the MSL girls tournament and sank it.

Carden was oblivious to the fact that she had earned her team the conference championship.

“After I made the putt and heard all my teammates cheering on the side, I knew we had it won,” Carden said.

Carden’s shot actually tied Barrington’s 317 score with Fremd, but the Broncos won the match due to the fifth-score tiebreaker, with Phoenix Hernandez finishing with a score of 89 for Brookington to a 95 from the Vikings’ Grayson Pai.

“There was a lot of pressure,” Carden said of the putt. “My initial reaction was, ‘I might have played it too much’, but then it went in.”

Barrington has won 10 of the last 11 conference championships, with Fremd claiming the title last year. The Broncos also won a team state championship in 2021.

Annie Carden — Teagan Carden’s older sister — made a par on the 17th hole to keep the scores level heading into the final hole.

“The Carden sisters are always clutch,” Barrington coach Tim Martin said.

According to Fremd coach Jeremy Malinoswk, the Vikings trailed by as many as 13 shots through 14 holes but closed the gap in the final four holes. They even took a one-shot lead in the final two holes.

“We had a very slow start, but the leadership with Alia Brazeau and Merritt Bell, they were able to right the ship and we came up short, unfortunately,” Malinoswk said. “Alia made a great par on 18 and forced (Teagan Carden) to make that putt, and she made a brilliant putt.”

Buffalo Grove’s Courtney Beerheide won the individual title with a 2-under-par 70. She was the only golfer to break par. Beerheide was paired with Brookington’s Reese Wallace, who won last year’s conference title.

“I played against one of my really good friends in Reese Wallace,” Beerheide said. “It was neck-and-neck for most of the way. It was just super fun and competitive.”

The two golfers went back and forth for much of the day. However, with both players tied with an even-par score through 12 holes, Beerheide — a Western Kentucky commit — made a birdie on the 13th and 15th holes, while Wallace — a TCU commit — bogeyed the 15th hole.

“One thing that really worked for me was my driver,” Beerheide said. “I stayed in play, which is very key on this course. So I gave myself a lot of chances to get some wedges close, which made me also have a lot of birdies close.”

Wallace finished with a 71 to claim second place. Olivia Yoon finished in fifth with a 77, while Teagan Carden tied for ninth with an 84 and Annie Carden was 12th with an 85. Hernandez finished 17th, giving the Broncos five golfers in the top 20.

“It felt good to try and defend my title today,” Wallace said. “We just came up short, but we’ll be back next year.”

Brazeau (75) and Bell (76) finished third and fourth, respectively, for Fremd, while Kathy Lee (82) finished seventh and Cara Spahic (84) finished tied for ninth.

Beerheide’s performance helped the Bison finish in third place with a score of 334, 17 shots behind the two first-place teams.

Hersey shot a 362 to take fourth, followed by Prospect (362), tournament host Conant (383), Schaumburg (402), Palatine (407), Rolling Meadows (457), Elk Grove Village (470) and Hoffman Estates (472).

Hoffman Estates’ Madeline Gutierrez shot a 79 to finish sixth, while Wheeling’s Sofia Costantini (83) finished eighth. Prospect’s Madeline Bielecki finished tied for ninth with an 84.