Bettendorf erases 2-shot deficit to win MAC team title
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By Jon Gremmels | Wednesday, September 26, 2007 |
ALEDO, Ill. — Mike Wuertz had a notion it would be a good day after one hole at the final round of the Mississippi Athletic Conference boys golf tournament.
Wuertz, who entered Tuesday’s second round with a one-stroke lead in the medalist race at Hawthorn Ridge Golf Course, made four birdies on the way to a 2-under-par 70 that helped him and his Bettendorf teammates win the individual and team championships.
“I got off to a good start with a birdie on No. 1, and it was huge,” Wuertz said. “A birdie and (having) the kid in second (place) bogey the first hole gives you a ton of momentum.”
The momentum helped the Bulldogs make up a two-stroke deficit in the team race.
“I think it’s always good to chase,” Bettendorf coach Tina Johnson said. “It helps you focus.”
Bettendorf shaved three strokes off its first-round total with a 298 and won with a 599 total. Davenport Central finished six strokes behind Bettendorf.
“They play strong when they have to,” Central’s Connor Gillund said of the Bulldogs. “I’m sure we felt a little pressure overall, but we didn’t do that bad.”
Pleasant Valley took third with a 626 total, while Davenport North, guided by MAC Coach of the Year Mike Marshall, was fourth (632).
Wuertz said momentum wasn’t the only factor that boosted Bettendorf.
“The team was kind of cocky (when the season started),” he said. “I think after the first round we were kind of humbled for the rest of the year.”
Even with everyone back from its team that won a fourth consecutive state title last fall, Bettendorf trailed Davenport Central 299-301 after the opening round of MAC play Aug. 20.
“We realized we can’t just show up and win,” Wuertz said.
Wuertz set the tone Tuesday with a 3-under-par 33 on the front nine, including birdies on Nos. 1, 3 and 9. He added another birdie on No. 11 and had only one bad hole in the round.
“The key was I kept getting up and down and avoiding bogeys,” he said. “I was 4-under for 13, but I four-putted No. 14 for a double bogey.”
Wuertz finished six strokes ahead of Gillund, the defending conference champion.
“I bogeyed the first hole and knew I had to turn it around,” said Gillund, who played in the final group with Wuertz and moved up one spot in the standings with a second straight 74. “I enjoyed watching Mike play. He only had one bad hole. I knew he was going to win by the way he played.”
With Wuertz’s winning score of 142, along with third- and fourth-place finishes from Jon Haedt (150) and junior Matt Solis (151), the only non-senior in the lineup, Bettendorf had enough firepower to overtake Central.
“Everyone is playing pretty well,” Wuertz said. “Anybody on the team can step up.”
Jon Gremmels can be contacted at (563) 383-2294 or at jgremmels@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
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