Boys golf: Geneva champion, Burlington Central 2nd at Mark Rolfing Cup

DeKALB – Moline sophomore Issac Rumler won the Mark Rolfing Cup individual honors Monday at Kishwaukee Country Club with an impressive 6-under-par 64, nine strokes ahead of the six players who tied for second at 73.

Geneva and Burlington Central, the top two teams, also ended their rounds with the same score, 297. Defending champion Geneva won the fifth-score tiebreaker by two strokes to retain the cup.

“It was a slow start for our kids, but they played a great second nine, and we were able to close it out and play some good rounds,” Geneva coach Eric Hatzcel said. “We just had a good back nine for most of our guys.”

The tournament was a gut check for Burlington Central.

“We have a confident team that qualified for state last year. Expectations have been high with pressure,” said Rockets coach Thomas Davies, “but this was a reality check that they are that talented and they can play well enough.”

Moline (303), St. Charles North (318), Huntley (324) and Sycamore (335) rounded out the top six finishers in the 11-team field.

“I play out here a lot, and that’s one of the best rounds I’ve ever seen out here, if not the best,” DeKalb coach Bradley Kerkman said about Rumler’s day. “It gives our team a lot to be proud of. Also, showcasing the golf course is pretty special.”

Greer Peters (Moline), Ryan O’Rourke (Geneva), Caden Shanahan (St. Charles North), Matthew Kowalik (Burlington Central), Matt Trimble (Geneva) and Tommy Wyse (Burlington Central) shared second-place honors.

“I was pretty confident coming off the tee today. The wedges were pretty dialed in, and the putter felt good,” said O’Rourke, last year’s individual champion. “My game felt pretty solid overall.”

Matthew Kowalik finished strong on each hole.

“I was putting really well. I only had 25 [putts],” the senior said.

Three golfers tied for eighth with rounds of 74 – Tyler Samaan (Burlington Central), Mason Hubbard (Sterling) and Bel Clairmont (Geneva).

Sycamore’s Landon Taylor (76) tied Neuqua Valley’s Connor Rodebaugh for 11th place.

“I feel pretty good about it,” Taylor said about his round. “There were just a few holes where my putts weren’t falling, but other than that I played pretty well.”

DeKalb (345) finished 10th.

“We struggled today,” Kerkman said. “I think there’s a lot of pressure on the kids because it’s our home course, and they just expect a lot of themselves to play well. But again, it was a hard golf course today, and it was hot out. But I think we are pretty close, going into the postseason and playing some good golf.”

The top 20 players were within 10 strokes of par.

“Jonah [Kleck, 18th] shot 78 today. He didn’t have his best game, and he would admit that, too,” the DeKalb coach said. “But he was still able to salvage a round and still be able to post a good score without his A+ game.”