KOHLER — Mason Burke started slowly, then closed with a big-time flurry to put himself firmly into medal contention.
Burke, a junior for Fort Atkinson’s boys golf team, shot 2-over 74 and is tied for second place after the first round of the WIAA Division 1 State Boys Golf Championships being contested on the Meadow Valleys Course at Blackwolf Run on Monday and Tuesday.
Burke, starting on the back nine on a day winds steadily blew between 10 and 15 miles per hour, made double bogey six at hole No. 10 followed by a double bogey 7 at No. 11 and a bogey 5 at No. 12. He played his final 15 holes in three under, including five pars in a six-hole stretch to make the turn in 42.
Burke caught fire on his inward nine, shooting a bogey-free 32 with four birdies.
“When I saw Mason as he made the turn, he said ‘I’m hitting the ball well, just had a couple of lip outs and a couple of bad breaks,’” Fort Atkinson boys golf coach Mason Kent said. “He stepped up and hit a good drive on hole No. 1 and seemed fired up to keep going. He played his way back in it from there.”
Burke hit his tee shot on the 142-yard par 3 third hole to inside 10 feet and converted the putt. On the 539-yard par 5 fourth hole, Burke was green side in two shots and got up and down from the fescue, rolling in a seven-foot look.
After three straight pars, Burke closed his round in style by sticking his tee shot on the 176-yard par 3 eighth to inside five feet and making the birdie look. He piped a drive down the middle on the 413-yard par 4 ninth, hit his second shot to nine feet and sank the putt for the lowest score of the day on the course’s opening nine.
Burke sits a shot behind Bay Port’s Karsen Kruse in the 104-player individual field. Kettle Moraine’s Spencer Stuke, DeForest’s Lincoln Hottmann and Germantown’s Cody Schmidt also shot 74 while four more players carded 75s and six more are tied for 10th after shooting 76.
“For Mason tomorrow, it’s about going out there and taking it one shot at a time, no matter how cliche that is,” Kent said. “Everything that happened today is done and over with. It’s about focusing on a new round of golf and taking it one shot at a time.”
Fort, in its first team appearance since 2015, shot 334 and is 13th in a bunched up 16-team field. Waunakee (311) leads Hartford (312) with five more teams within eight shots of the lead.
“As a team, this one of our higher numbers we shot and also one of the stiffer winds we played in,” Kent said. “This is a new environment none of these guys have seen. Our guys are really embracing the moment and making memories, which is super cool. I think all five are going to have a better round tomorrow and we’ll see Fort move up the leaderboard.”
Fort junior Kellan Jacobson shot 80 and is tied for 32nd. He birdied the par-5 11th, which was playing into the wind, by hitting a wedge in close and making the putt. Jacobson added a birdie on the par-4 first, draining a 20-foot look, and put another circle on his scorecard with a birdie on the par-4 sixth, making a seven-foot uphill putt.
“Kellan really battled and did a great job of shaking it off when things didn’t go his way,” Kent said. “Kellan made double-bogey seven on hole No. 4, followed by a bad break and bad lie for a bogey on No. 5. He stepped up on No. 6 and made birdie.
“We made one minor alignment adjustment on the range before the round, allowing him to swing more down his target line. He gained confidence and took that to the golf course, where he hit his driver effectively and played routinely from the fairway.”
Senior Ethan Brown shot 89.
“Ethan had a steady round going and as the last guy out, played his last hole and a half in stiff wind and sideways rain,” Kent said. “Ethan managed it well and kept it in front of him. He couldn’t quite get it going on his opening nine, but fought back well on his second nine.”
Junior Jack Kammer shot 91 while junior Caleb Enger’s 96 was not counted.
“Jack and Caleb had really tough starts,” Kent said. “Jack came out of the gates slow through his first six holes. He made two pars to close his front nine and four more on the inward nine and was able to control it a little better.
“Caleb made birdie on No. 1, hitting a 15-foot putt, following a 10 on No. 18, which says a lot about him. He hit a couple bad shots right in a row on No. 18. Most guys after making a 10 aren’t going to come back and make a birdie.”
Fort tees off No. 10 this afternoon starting at 12:30 p.m. for the final round.
Team scores: Waunakee 311, Hartford 312, Bay Port 316, Hudson 316, Eau Claire Memorial 318, Menomonee Falls 318, Janesville Craig 319, Marquette 323, Middleton 326, Waukesha North 329, Franklin 329, Sheboygan North 332, Fort Atkinson 334, Notre Dame 335, Kettle Moraine 339, Brookfield Central 358.
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