Furmanski's the man in Mundelein regional

Warren junior Taylor Furmanski did not mind the fog that rolled in early Tuesday morning, delaying play for one hour in the Class 3A Mundelein golf regional.

It gave him the chance to hit more balls after a disappointing initial session at the range. Under the watchful eye of his dad, Furmanski focused on maintaining the proper angle and squaring his club at impact.

"Everything was going right where I was aligned," Furmanski said.

Furmanski brought the exact same swing to par-72 Steeple Chase Golf Club and produced the most remarkable round of his life. Furmanski, whose previous best score in a high school tournament was 75, fired a 3-under-par 69 to earn medalist honors by 1 stroke in the 11-team tourney.

Furmanski and senior teammate Pat Nelson (77) were two of the eight individuals to qualify for Monday's sectional tournament.

The three qualifying teams were Lake Forest (293), Mundelein (298) and Highland Park (302). This was the first time in school history Mundelein advanced to sectionals as a team. Warren and Carmel missed by 1 and 2 shots, respectively. Carmel performed well enough, though, that five of its players qualified as individuals.

Furmanski moved to 2-under-par with a birdie at the par-5 fourth hole. Furmanski reached the fringe in two shots and his eagle putt was dead center but 3 inches short of the hole.

After nine holes, he had made two more birdies, just one bogey and was at 3-under-par.

"I saw him after the ninth hole and I knew something special could be in the offing," Warren coach Mike Wittes said.

At the par-3 11th, Furmanski kept a 9-iron under the swirling wind and made the short putt for birdie. Another birdie at 14 moved him to 6-under.

It was only then that Furmanski started thinking about his score and how far under par he was.

"There were some nerves," he said. "It was difficult to put the tee in the ground."

Even with 3 bogeys over his final four holes, he still broke 70. Wittes was not surprised that Furmanski spent time during the fog delay hitting golf balls.

"He works a lot on his game and knows what he wants to accomplish," Wittes said.

Mundelein senior Johnny Pierpont placed second with a 70. The Mustangs also counted scores from junior Pat McGrath (75), senior Phil Senour (75) and junior Ben Schroeder (78).

"This was our main goal from Day One," Mundelein coach Todd Parola said.

Pierpont began by hitting his approach shot on the first hole to six feet. He made the putt for the first of his 6 birdies. After opening with a 37, he closed with 33. He started the back nine in style by draining a 20-footer for birdie.

"I knew it was going in," Pierpont said. "That gave me some momentum."

McGrath said the key to his round was converting two birdie putts in excess of 20 feet.

"I usually don't make those putts," he said.

Stevenson senior Joe Pellettiere fired a 74 to advance.

"This was a day where my putter and long game came together," he said.

Pellettiere's key hole was the par-5 fourth. After hooking his tee shot into a water hazard, he hit a 215-yard down-wind 5-iron to 4-feet. Although he missed the birdie, he was thrilled with the way he scrambled for a par.

Even though Carmel did not qualify as a team, it was a banner day. Moving on for the Corsairs are sophomore Billy White (75), sophomore Alex Pabich (76), junior Sean Wilson (76) and seniors Albert Gehrke (77) and Tim Orlowski (77). Pabich birdied his first three holes of the round.

Grayslake Central senior Michael Reynolds' round of 77 extended his season.