How a 'scorecard mishap' almost derailed this NIC-10 golf team's regional title hopes
ROCKFORD — Hononegah senior Colton Boelkes picked a great time to shoot the round of his life.
And (almost) the worst time to agree to an incorrect score.
Boelkes had never broken 80 before shooting 77 at Aldeen in Wednesday’s Class 3A Auburn Regional. But the scorecard his group turned in said 76 with a 4 on 18 instead of what should have been a 5 after a tap-in par. The rival keeping his score wrote down the wrong number and Boelkes agreed to it, but the other two players in his foursome later caught the mistake and Boelkes was disqualified.
“It was a scorecard mishap,” Boelkes said. “It was a misunderstanding both ways. It just got blown over, was not to be and ended wrong.”
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Boelkes said it hurt bad, but much of the sting was erased when Hononegah edged Woodstock North by one stroke, 334-335, to win its sixth regional boys golf title in school history.
“That would have hurt,” Hononegah coach Ken Lewis said, “but that’s the way it is: You screw up on your scorecard and you are out. But Colton played really well. He had 17 great holes. And that was a great hole. He just wrote down 4 instead of 5.”
Jack Kitzman (79), Zakary Ketelsen (83), Landen Seymour (85) and Dylan Hyde (87) scored for Hononegah to advance to Monday’s Dundee-Crown Sectional.
“I knew we had it — until, unfortunately, what happened to Colton," Kitzman said. "It was an honest mistake. I feel sorry for him. He played out of his mind. But we deserved that win.
“It saddens me,” Kitzman said of Boelkes being disqualified. “I feel sorry for him. He shot the best round of his life and he got DQ’d for something dumb. But it’s pressure off our shoulders that we still won by a stroke. Our team grinded it out. There were a lot of up-and-downs on my scorecard. A lot of up-and-downs on everybody’s scorecard. It was enough to squeak by.
Guilford senior Andrew Carey won medalist honors with a 2-over-par 74, two strokes ahead of Woodstock North’s Marc Cheng. Carey became the first Guilford golfer to reach state in 11 years last season and opened this year by winning the Boylan Invitational at Ledges. He is a two-time NIC-10 runner-up to Boylan’s Cooper Watt.
“It’s good to get off to a good start (to the postseason), but it only gets tougher from here,” Carey said after helping Guilford be the third team to advance to sectionals with a 342.
“I got off to a slow start, but stayed within my game and stayed patient,” added Carey, who made bogey on three of his first four holes. “Stuff started to fall and good things started to come my way. If I play the way I did today — but start a little earlier — it will probably be good enough to get me to state.”
Local golfers advancing as individuals were: Harlem’s Mason Bernabe (85) and Caden Cline (89), East’s Camden Taylor (87) and Nick Wilson (94), Auburn’s Aiden Doherty (92) and Jefferson’s Matt Ekberg (93).
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Class 2A at Marengo Ridge
Boylan shot 321 to beat Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge by two strokes. Woodstock Marian (337) was the third team to advance to Monday’s sectionals, five strokes ahead of Belvidere North.
Three-time NIC-10 champion Cooper Watt led Boylan with a 73, Kevin Clemens (77), Cole Beto (84) and Cameron Schwarzbach (87) rounded out Boylan’s scoring. Watt tied for second individually, one stroke behind Crystal Lake South’s Nate Stewart, and Clemens finished fourth.
Class 2A at Mendota Golf Club
Freeport shot 366 to finish fourth, 14 strokes out of advancing to sectionals, while Rochelle was fifth at 368. Ottawa won the title with a 328. Freeport’s Jack Stone (86) and Zach Fisher (91) advanced to sectionals.
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Class 1A at Silver Ridge
A week after edging Byron by four strokes to win the Big Northern tournament, Rockford Lutheran edged the Tigers again, this time by a single stroke to win the Oregon Regional with a 326. Byron (327) and Rockford Christian (336) also advanced.
It was Lutheran’s first regional title in 13 years, since the Crusaders finished third in the state in 2009. Sophomore Nathan Ling, third overall, led them with a 79, followed by BNC champ Jake Guse (81), Luke Carlson (83) and Zeke Harezlak (83).
Byron’s Maison Brandt was regional champion by two strokes with an even-par 72 while Aaron Lorenz (80) finished fourth for the Tigers. Freshman Gavin Hultman led Rockford Christian with an 83.
Class 1A at Galena Golf Club
River Ridge/Scales Mound shot 349 to finish second behind Fulton, a week after edging Fulton for the NUIC title. Stockton finished fourth, one spot behind Galena for the final sectional spot. Pecatonica senior Evan Folk finished fifth with an 86 to be the top Rockford-area finisher.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: IHSA golf: 'Scorecard mishap' almost costs Hononegah a regional title
