Boys golf: Park, Glenbard West have special day at regional

Glenbard West's Ryan Park had a day to remember on Wednesday.

The senior golfer nearly walked away with a rare trifecta at the Class 3A West Chicago Regional held at St. Andrews Golf and Country Club.

Early in the regional, Park established it was going to be a memorable playoff experience for him. On the third hole, Park sank his first career hole-in-one. His strong showing was a key factor in Glenbard West winning its first regional team title in nearly two decades. The Hilltoppers shot a 2-under-par 282 to nudge out Hinsdale Central (292).

To top it off, Park tied for meet medalist honors with Hinsdale Central's Emil Riegger with a 69 on the challenging course. Park fell short of adding the personal milestone, losing to Riegger in a one-hole playoff.

Still, Park said he cherished all of the memorable experiences, including his hole-in-one.

"The hole-in-one was nice," Park said. "It was a new experience for me. I enjoyed it. I didn't see it go in, but my mom was standing down there. I didn't hear any expression from her. Walking down the fairways, my coach came up to me and tells me it went in. It was mind-blowing. I've been playing golf since first grade, just crazy it's been so long for it to finally happen here."

A three-year varsity player, Park said the hole-in-one was a rush of emotions, but it didn't affect his game over the final 15 holes.

"It got my adrenaline pumping," Park said. "It didn't really affect many shots after that. Maybe a few putts I was little (strong) on, hitting them too far. Overall, I thought I played pretty well after that. I've never been in that situation, so it was something different."

On a day full of "different" things for Park, he also experienced his first career playoff round.

"That's something I'm looking forward to again, but maybe I will win it outright next time," Park said. "I hit a solid tee shot, just below right, a pitching wedge from 145 and it landed on the front of the green, but it took a big bounce and rolled all the way off the back and ended up not making it in two."

Riegger, a junior, added to his strong season by shooting par on the playoff hole to edge out Park for meet medalist honors. Riegger shot a 7-under par 65 to win the West Suburban Silver title last week.

"In the playoffs, I hit a pretty good two-iron into the middle of the fairways," Riegger said. "After that, I had 130 (yards) in, took a gap wedge and hit it perfectly and it landed a couple of feet in front of the pin but bounced about 10 to 15 feet behind the pin.

"I just tried to stay relaxed and calm and play my game. I'm pretty happy with what I did. My goal is to do well in sectionals and try and win state."

Glenbard West senior John Wild, an Oklahoma State recruit, tied for third place with teammate Grant Roscich. Wild said he was happy for his teammate.

"It was great to see Ryan play so well," Wild said. "It's nice seeing him develop and get better and I'm really happy for him. He's starting to play some really good golf.

"I felt pretty solid today, hit it well and think I hit 15 greens. I didn't putt as well as I wanted, though. It feels good to win regionals going into sectionals. We won the last two sectionals, so it's good to have some confidence trying to win it for a third time. We have such a deep squad with so many solid players. We're trying to get ready for sectionals and hopefully state."

Hinsdale Central coach Jess Krueger said he was pleased with his team's performance.

"If you would've told me we would shoot 292 at the beginning of the day, I would've taken it," he said. "I don't think I've seen a team win a tournament like this here under 300, so for them to go under 300 is a really good score. I'm happy with how they played. Emil played very well. He was determined, very even-keeled and didn't let a bad outcome affect his play."

Glenbard West coach Paul Hezlett said Day's hole-in-one sparked his teammates.

"It was a good first day in the state series," Hezlett said. "The guys played really well. This was really good for Ryan. He's worked really hard to be better this year. He's a leader on the team, so I'm really happy for him. The senior group, in general, is special."