Girls golf: It's a win for LZ, Wynstone duo at Ivanhoe
When she wants to chip and putt, all Kiana Pouyat has to do is walk out to her backyard, which, conveniently for a golfer, sits next to The Club at Wynstone's driving range.
"My dad and I will go out at 7 p.m. when the bugs are coming out, and we'll chip and putt for like an hour," said Pouyat, a Lake Zurich sophomore. "I have to get like 30 up-and-downs before I can go inside."
Pouyat might even run into her Bears teammate Bryana Hogan, who's also her neighbor.
"I live on (hole No.) 16," Hogan said. "I've been playing (golf) since I was like 3."
Tuesday, Lake Zurich teed it up at another private country club, the Ivanhoe Club, as the Bears hosted Mundelein in a North Suburban Conference match.
Not surprisingly, LZ won with the Wynstone duo leading the way on Ivanhoe's Forest nine. Pouyat earned medalist honors with a 5-over-par 41, Hogan shot a 43, and Lake Zurich totaled a 186 to defeat the Mustangs (207), who got a 48 from sophomore Kellie Shanahan.
Lake Zurich improved to 1-4 in the NSC, while Mundelein fell to 1-4.
Pouyat, who stands only 5 feet 2 but "creams" the ball, Bears coach Mel Fox said, had never played Ivanhoe.
"But my home course is just like it," Pouyat said. "They're super nice fairways, the greens are super fast, lots of water, lots of out of bounds. I live, sleep and breathe these types of courses."
Pouyat counted just 16 putts (a strength of her game, of course) and didn't lose a ball. Growing up playing Wynstone gave her an advantage, and she didn't squander it.
"The fairways are super narrow, which I wasn't really used to, and the greens, compared to our school home course (Village Green), are definitely faster so it was hard to get used to them," Pouyat said. "On the weekends, when I practice at home, I definitely practice on these greens and play these types of shots. This course is really long, though."
Hogan said she had an "off" day after firing a 1-under 35 at Veteran's Memorial in Great Lakes against Libertyville last week. She had a 35 through eight holes, before carding a triple on the difficult par-5 ninth thanks to splashing two balls into the water.
For the junior and three-year varsity player, it was also her first time playing Ivanhoe.
"It was super nice," Hogan said. "It's so pretty. My drives were just going a little left today."
Lake Zurich received 51s from Alyson Kee, Debby Chung and Emily Kaminsky.
Mundelein's top pairing, Shanahan and Maddie Wade (59), played with Pouyat and Hogan.
"We played together last year and we stayed in touch with each other," Shanahan said of Pouyat and Hogan. "They're great golfers. I love watching their swings and seeing what I can do better with my swing."
McKenzie Begg, whose family is member at Ivanhoe, shot a 50. Mundelein also counted Maddy Forster's 53 and Natalie Altenhoff's 56.
Shanahan was happy with how she played and happy just to play Ivanhoe.
"I love this course," Shanahan said. "It's very pretty."