Barrington, Ghim lead way at BG
There was a lot of rebounding occurring at Tuesday's Class 3A Buffalo Grove boys golf regional tournament.
Barrington continued to bounce back from a rare year where it didn't qualify anyone for the state tournament by rolling to a regional title.
Buffalo Grove freshman Doug Ghim continued his comeback from pneumonia to claim medalist honors with an impressive round at Buffalo Grove Golf Course.
And Brian Bodolay responded after an injury-plagued junior year to lead his Fremd team to a berth in next Monday's St. Viator sectional at Old Orchard Country Club.
Senior Nick Schiavi shot a 2-under-par 70 as four Barrington players broke 80 en route to a 296. Schiavi finished a stroke behind Ghim for the title on the 6,658-yard layout.
“I only knew (Lake Zurich's) Mike Nutter shot a 71 so I thought I was putting at the end to win, Schiavi said after canning a 10-footer on the 18th after just missing a 50-footer. “I know Doug is a good player and he came through.
Schiavi shot 35 on each side and had 3 birdies and only 1 bogey.
“I've been struggling a little bit with the putter, but my putting was probably better than my ball-striking today, Schiavi said after not having a 3-putt hole Tuesday. “Everyone played so well.
That's been the key for the Broncos all year as sophomore Greg Conrad shot 74 to tie Jacobs' Buzz Amann for sixth. Marc Ackermann shot 75 to tie Cary-Grove's Jarrett Kinney for eighth.
J.P. Talbot shot 77 to finish 10th, Mike Stathakis' 80 tied for 13th and Taylor Ganzer's 81 tied for 17th.
“Our depth is definitely the strength of our team, said Barrington coach Mike Kallenbach. “It can be a different four guys at any time.
It has been as Schiavi, Ackermann, Talbot and Stathakis have won tournaments this year. The driving force is making sure everyone gets out of Monday's sectional and back to state.
“We have basically the same group of guys and we've all improved so much going into this year, Schiavi said.
“When we didn't make it out of sectionals last year, it leaves an empty feeling that really has fueled them this year, Kallenbach said. “It will be really tough next week but I like our chances.
So does Ghim after missing a good chunk of the early season with pneumonia. A 32 in a practice round Monday on his home Buffalo Grove course proved to be a good omen.
“I finally got back to what I used to do, Ghim said. “About a week ago I felt like everything got back to normal distance-wise. I was pretty weak (physically).
Ghim had 3 birdies and nailed a 30-foot putt for an eagle on No. 16.
“I had pretty much control of everything in my game today, Ghim said. “Some of the pin placements were pretty tough but other than that it plays like it always does. It was challenging but very gettable.
Bodolay called his even-par 72 “kind of a boring round as he tied Jacobs' Scott Cahill for fourth. But there was nothing dull about helping Fremd advance to the sectional with a 309 and finish second ahead of Jacobs on a fifth-score tiebreaker.
Brad Beutler (78), Josh Rosenzweig (79), Jackson Tworek (80), Zach Isoda (81) and Brad Peterson (83) followed Bodolay for Fremd.
“We got the job done, Bodolay said, “and shot just enough scores to make it count and move on to sectionals.
Bodolay missed a big chunk of last season with an injured back. He shot an 80 in the MSL tournament and usually scores in the high 70s, but had 3 birdies on Tuesday.
“It was good to have a rebound like this, Bodolay said. “It was very pleasing to see.
Rolling Meadows sophomore Dan Wojtowicz shot 80 to finish 13th and was one of the 10 individual sectional qualifiers not on qualifying teams.
Palatine's Brian Bartyzel (81) and Alex Kehe (82) also qualified. Teammate Cully Leverenz shot 83 to tie for 10th with Dundee-Crown's Anthony Cardelli and Jeff Allen, but Cardelli got the final qualifying spot on the first hole of a playoff.