Boys golf: White, Blue Demons fall short of state
May 17—BLOOMFIELD — Easton White didn't think a future in golf was in the cards.
Just one day after competing for a spot in the Iowa High School State Golf Tournament, however, White will secure another two years playing competitively using the sport to help facilitate a college degree. While the Davis County senior came up seven strokes short in his last chance to qualify for state on Monday in the Class 3A district tournament on Bos Landen Golf Club, White has two more years to chase down championships on the course after signing on Tuesday with the men's program at Southeastern Community College.
"I went into the spring expecting to get done with high school and start working right away," White said. "I got an offer (from Southeastern), went and made a visit. I took a look at it and I'm pretty excited to continue to golf and see what it's like to continue to compete as a college athlete."
White's final tournament as a Davis County Mustang ended with a round of 89. Pella senior Will Simpson finished as the individual district champion, posting a round of 70 beating Knoxville sophomore Evan Smith by three strokes for medalist honors.
Knoxville (321), Pella (322) and Newton (327) collected the three berths for the Class 3A state boys golf tournament. Winterset junior Maddux Weeks (79) and Oskaloosa sophomore Johnathon Terpstra (82) were able to secure the final two individual state qualifier berths on a day where the Bos Landen course provided golfers with a very stiff test.
"You have to be pretty particular on that course about where you miss," White said. "If you missing in the rough, it's going to be a long day. I missed in the rough quite a few times. The greens were a little slower than when I played my practice round out there. I had a lot of trouble putting. It just wasn't all there for me."
While White missed out on a state berth in Pella, the Albia Blue Demons fell short of qualifying for state in Class 2A up at the Lincoln Valley Golf Course in State Center. While Des Moines Christian ran away with the district title, posting a team score of 299, four teams battled within six shots for what proved to be the final state tournament berth.
Ultimately, Hudson won the race to the 2A boys state golf tournament, posting a 158 on the back nine to edge Union by three strokes for the second and final state berth. Aplington-Parkersburg finished fourth with a round of 326 while Albia, one shot of out of second place on the front nine, finished fifth overall with a season-ending round of 327.
Connor Fisher lead the way again for Albia, shooting a seven-over-par round of 79 missing qualifying as an individual by three shots. Garin Grinstead produced a season-low 81 for the Blue Demons in his final tournament of his senior campaign.
"Connor struggled a little with putting. That was the difference from sectionals," Albia head boys golf coach Marty Hermsen said. "Connor has been striking the ball really well. I look for great things out of him next season.
"Garin saved his best for last. I know he was disappointed with a triple bogey on his finishing hole, but he had a great senior year. I'm just really happy with how he played all season long.
Cael Schofield wrapped up his first season of varsity golf for Albia posting a score of 83 on Monday, suffering a triple-bogey on the par-5 ninth hole late in his round. Landen Simpson gave the Blue Demons an early jolt, posting an eagle on that same ninth hole, but struggled with back-to-back bogeys to open the back nine struggling with bad tee shots before finishing the round with a birdie on the par-5 seventh hole to finish with a round of 84.
Cael is a talented freshmen. I look for him to put up some great scores up next season," Hermsen said. "We will be leaning on Landen next season as a senior to help lead the team."
Grant Powers shot an impressive 41 on front nine, finishing with a solid round of 85 for the Blue Demons. Fellow Albia freshman Cooper Bradley had a rough day, shooting a 98.
"I'm very impressed with Grant. We need him to put in some quality time on the links this summer to play even better next season," Hermsen said. "Cooper needs to do some serious work this summer in being more consistent off the tee box. He's ia good athlete and does well around the greens. He just needs to work out some swing mechanics and get him going in the right directions."
