Boys golf: Marmion Academy 2nd, Ottawa 3rd at Pirate Invitational

OGLESBY – Many of the participants at Monday’s 18-team Ottawa Pirate Invitational talked about the great condition the Deer Park Golf Course was in as they chatted in the clubhouse.

Their scores showed it.

Normal U-High, with sophomore Brody Allen earning medalist honors with a 5-under-par 65, claimed the top spot with a team score of 285, with Marmion Academy finishing second with a 288 and Ottawa (Red) third with a 291.

Hall (308) placed eighth, Morris (321) 10th, La Salle-Peru (329) 13th, Streator (336) 15th and Ottawa (White) (339) 16th.

Marmion senior Regan Konen shot a 3-under 67 to earn individual runner-up honors.

“I felt like I hit my wedges really well, and that was the key for me today,” Konen said. “I got off the tee pretty well, and with this not too long of a course, I was able to get some pretty good looks with my wedge and gave myself some good birdie chances. From there it was trying to make those putts to capitalize on those first couple of shots on each hole.

“First time playing this course for me. There are always pluses and minuses to playing a course for the first time, and much of that is not knowing where the danger is. I guess I’d say I stay away from most of the danger that’s out there.”

The Cadets also had solid marks from Evan Paganelis (5th, 69) and Ronan O’Connor (79).

Ottawa sophomore Bryer Harris carded a 2-under 68 to finish fourth for the hosts’ Red team.

“My putting was easily the best part of my game today,” Harris said. “My putter helped me out of some tough situations, for sure. I guess the highlight for me was on No. 8. I pulled my tee shot way left and triple-bogeyed it during the summer in the Illinois Valley Championships, but today I put a 7-iron super close and made par. I’ve had a mental block on that hole, so it was nice to overcome that today.

“I had quite a few birdies (6) today, which isn’t necessarily normal for me, I’m usually making pars with a few birdies mixed in. I had a couple more bogeys than I would have liked, but I feel I played a pretty solid round.”

Colt Bryson added a 73, with Jacob Armstrong and Seth Cooper posting 75s for Ottawa.

Hall senior Landen Plym topped the Red Devils with a 73 to finish 11th.

“I started off with four bogeys in a row and was 4 over through six holes,” Plym said. “Those early holes I was struggling with my irons, but then I kind of found my groove after that. My driver was solid all day, but then along with my irons one key I feel was I started making putts.

“I played in a group where I knew the guy from Morris from the L-P Invite earlier this year, and throughout the entire round it was just good vibes from everyone, and the entire group played pretty well. It was a very enjoyable round.”

Hall also received 77s from Jacob Diaz and Noah Plym.

L-P senior Michael Milota placed 19th with a team-leading 75.

“I can’t really say any part of my game was better than the other today,” Milota said. “I played just steady enough to keep myself going. I didn’t have very many great shots, but not many bad shots, either.

“My first five holes I was 1 under, but I did get myself in a little trouble over a couple holes when I started to try and be a little more aggressive. I just told myself that I needed to dial it back a little, and from there I was able to get things back to steady.”

Adin Chiu added an 82 for L-P, while Ben Nicholson and Riley Cetwinski registered 86s.

Streator junior Kolden Neumann paced his squad with a 75, good for 16th place.

“I feel like I played really well today, and I’m happy with my score,” Neumann said. “My driver was straight all day; I don’t think I missed many fairways, if any. I was playing just a little bit of a draw and landing it in the middle of the fairway. My best stretch was on holes one through five, where I parred all five and felt I played them all about as good as I could.

“I was playing with three guys I didn’t know, but all of them were super great to play with. I feel like we were kind of pushing each other to play better.”

Logan Cottingham’s 81 and Joshua Armstrong’s 85 led Ottawa’s White team.