Boys golf: CL Central wins G-G invite

Cary-Grove sophomore Erik Pietrzyk was blown away with his round at the C-G Boys Golf Invitational on Saturday at Foxford Hills.

Pietrzyk started with a bogey, but quickly proceeded to have as much fun as he has ever had on a golf course, tying Prairie Ridge senior Joe Pokonosky for low score with a 3-over-par 75.

"It was my best round ever," Pietrzyk said. "I played phenomenal. I played out of my mind today. It was just crazy. It was a great round. I was pretty confident with my game. I was hitting them flush today."

Pokonosky admitted he did not feel all that comfortable on the course, yet he remained consistent and eventually took home the first-place medal on a scorecard tiebreaker.

"My approach shots were pretty good," Pokonosky said. "I didn't have any putts outside of 30 feet. I hit 13 or 14 greens, it was pretty good. I didn't expect to be in this spot. There are a lot of good players."

Crystal Lake Central had three golfers break 80 - Eric Klutke (76), Christian Wakeford (77) and Bayden Hubacher (79) - and won the team trophy with a 324, one shot ahead of Huntley. Danny Sheedy led the Red Raiders with a 76.

Central freshman Charlie Polash shot a 92 for the Tigers' fourth score.

Huntley's other scoring golfers were Josh Good (81), Brendan Busky (84) and Nathan Elm (84).

"Charlie birdied his next-to-last hole," Tigers coach Matt LePage said. "He had no idea what was going on. He was mad at himself for not playing up to his potential. You never know hot it's going to shake out."

Burlington Central (337) was third, led by Chaz Rutke's 76. Prairie Ridge and Cary-Grove were tied for fourth, with Prairie Ridge taking that place on a fifth-score tiebreaker.

McHenry's Sam Huff was the fourth golfer in the group of 76s.

Klutke was using a new driver, which caused him trouble on one hole, but still finished one shot off the lead.

"I sort of struggled all day, I couldn't really get anything going," Klutke said. "I hit (the driver) decent. I hit one bad one which cost me a few strokes. It was a struggle, but it was fun."

Wakeford was pleased with his contribution to help the Tigers take the team title.

"I felt comfortable and I've been shooting well throughout these rounds, I haven't gone over 40," Wakeford said. "I've been really consistent. My mental game is really good right now."

The Tigers won with a 324 followed by Huntley (325), Burlington Central (337), Prairie Ridge (340), Cary-Grove (340), McHenry (341), Lake Zurich (344) and Dundee-Crown (365).