<body><div><h2>Golfer of the week</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2GrQeq_0tOYWbdD00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2GrQeq_0tOYWbdD00" width="1919" height="1080" ><figcaption>2023 WIAA D1 state boys golf | Mason Haupt, West De Pere Wisconsin.Golf photo / ROB HERNANDEZ</figcaption></figure>Mason Haupt, West De Pere. The UW-Green Bay recruit completed one of the most remarkable four-year regional resumes in WIAA boys golf tournament history Wednesday when he shot 4-under-par 69 at the West De Pere regional at Fox Valley Golf Club in Kaukauna and repeated as Division 1 regional champion with a seven-stroke victory over good friend and playing partner Aiden Cudney of Kimberly.His scorecard couldn't have been a better reflection of its author as Haupt was flawless from start-to-finish, but he still found a way to save his best for last.Haupt birdied the par-4 fourth hole in the middle of eight other pars on the front nine to go out a in 1-under 35. He made six straight pars to open the back nine before finishing off his bogey-free round with a birdie-birdie-birdie finish.For Haupt, it finished off a regional run that showed improvement every year.As a freshman, Haupt shot 79 at the regional at Ledgeview GC in De Pere and finished T-3, one shot behind then-seniors Austin Georger of Appleton West and Ben Busick of De Pere. As a sophomore, Haupt shot 73 back at Ledgeview GC and finished second by one stroke to Evan Harmann of De Pere. As a junior, Haupt fired another 73, this time at Winagamie GC in Neenah and shared regional medalist honors with Appleton West's Colin Evers.Haupt knows perhaps better than anyone that even greater challenges lie ahead.He followed up his third-place regional finish as a freshman by sharing sectional medalist honors the following week at Thornberry Creek at Oneida GC with Georger, Busick and De Pere's Sam Mehlberg (73s) to get West De Pere through to the state tournament as a sectional runner-up. The next year, however, he struggled to a 79 at Fox Valley GC — you think he remembered that? — as the Phantoms missed a state berth by five strokes and Haupt missed getting to state individually by three. Last year, Haupt shot 68 at Thornberry Creek at Oneida to win sectional titles individually and with his team as West De Pere eventually finished T-3 at the state tournament. <h2>Rookie of the week </h2>Cole Herbst, Platteville. The Hillmen freshman played like someone poised beyond his years Wednesday at Prairie du Chien CC, shooting 77 and winning the Division 2 Prairie du Chien regional by one stroke over Richland Center senior Roman Johnson. More importantly, Herbst finished his round (one of just two sub-80 rounds among the 45 golfers in the field) par-bogey-par in the final group of the second wave of teams to push Platteville into a tie for third place with the Cuba City co-op at 357, one ahead of Richland Center in the three-team scramble for the final two berths in next week's River Valley sectional at the House on the Rock Resort GC near Spring Green.<h2>Trios of the week (and a quartet!)</h2>Bay Port, DeForest, Catholic Memorial (Waukesha), Middleton, Mineral Point and Cambridge. Forget the ol' 1-2 punch. A handful of teams opened the WIAA postseason play this week in the spirit of legendary Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray with ... "ah-one, ahh-TWO, ahhh-THREE!"Bay Port, DeForest, Catholic Memorial, Mineral Point and Cambridge all had golfers sweep the top three spots of their respective regionals (including ties at the third spot) as those teams appeared ready to start the postseason.At Pulaski, senior Preston Lamirande earned medalist honors with a 74 while Bay Port teammates Konor Tignal and Karsen Kruse tied for second place with two others with 78s to lead the Pirates (312) to a Division 1 regional title. At Cottage Grove, junior Lincoln Hottmann and sophomore Parker Bilderback shared medalist honors with matching 72s and DeForest teammate Kaden Zinkle tied for third with one other golfer (73) as the Norskies (297) rolled to a 34-stroke victory at the Division 1 Monona Grove regional.In Division 2, freshman Jackson Albee (78) won his team's own regional at Broadlands GC in North Prairie as Catholic Memorial (Waukesha) and senior teammates Chase Vieaux (79) and Luke Schreiber (79) tied for second place with one other golfer as the Crusaders won by 22 strokes with a 319 total. In Division 3, senior Alex Ross (73) and sophomore Drew Aschliman (75) delivered the 1-2 and junior Eli Lindsey (77) tied for third as 2023 state runner-up Mineral Point (305) won its own regional by 35 shots while defending state champion Cambridge (318) took The Prairie School (Racine) regional by 46 strokes with a champion in junior Kian Bystol Flores (70), a runner-up in senior Cade Nottestad (80) and a third-place finisher in freshman Ben Baker (82).There was another team that went one step better, summoned the spirit of another prominent American south of the Wisconsin border (Abe Lincoln) — something about four score — and packed its four scoring golfers in the top three. That would be Middleton, which had co-medalists at the Sauk Prairie regional at Prairie du Sac in senior Charlie Jambor and sophomore Reis Von Ruden (73s) while teammates Dain Johnson, a senior, and Luke Weiss, a sophomore, shot matching 74s and tied for third place with five other golfers.<h2>Team of the week</h2>Oconomowoc. When you wedge into the same WIAA regional six teams worthy of teeing it up next week's sectional — when there were two nearby sectionals that struggled to field five teams apiece, a perennial affliction for the WIAA but a story for another day — and stipulate that only four of them can continue their seasons together, as they say, something has to give. What gave Wednesday at Wanaki GC in Menomonee Falls was Oconomowoc's JP Flannery decided if everybody believed there was so much talent among the eight teams at the Oconomowoc regional that someone should show it.The Racoons junior fired a career-low 69 to earn medalist honors by two shots over Waukesha North senior Jackson Piacsek, helping Oconomowoc turn the tables on the Classic 8 Conference champion North Stars and win the regional team title with a 307, one shot ahead of Greater Metro Conference tournament champion Menomonee Falls and two shots ahead of North on a day in which five teams shot better than 320.Oconomowoc also counted a 76 from junior Drew Maglio, an 80 from junior Matt Harkins and an 82 from junior Jack Pilachowski. It was the first regional title since 2008 for the Racoons, who threw out Brandon Koenig's 83. "Looking back at it, I knew things were going to be close and tight from the battles between us and North," Oconomowoc coach Jason Dahl said. "I knew Menomonee Falls was going to be right there. JP and Drew pushed forward — there were a couple of two-shot swings out there — so it was one stroke here, one stroke there. I think for the guys it was great ... because we haven't won regionals since 2008 but we've been at sectionals almost every year."It continues to boggle the minds of coaches in the Milwaukee area as to why the WIAA would allow one such top-heavy regional with eight teams and 39 golfers when there were three other nearby regionals that averaged fewer than six teams and 39 golfers. Much of their consternation stems from this same sectional producing an outcome last year worthy of the big stage at Blackwolf Run in Kohler — Hartland Arrowhead (295) won the sectional while North (298) edged Oconomowoc (299) for the second state berth, a scenario likely to play out again next week when Nicolet (Glendale) regional champion Germantown (302) joins the Oconomowoc regional heavyweights at the Waukesha South sectional at Naga-Waukee GC in Pewaukee. "We just tell our kids to control what you can control — your shot, your tempo, continue to do that," Dahl said. "After last year (at the sectional), we're not counting anything out until the last putt drops. We know what it's going to take; we're going to have to put together another solid round."Our kids have responded well in moments when they need to make something happen and they do."<h2>Conferences of the week</h2>Classic 8 and North Shore. When it comes to geographical representation in the WIAA postseason, it's hard to beat the the volume of excellence or the reach of these two conferences. The Classic 8 and the North Shore sent eight of its 10 teams onto sectional competition from five regionals in two divisions.Three Classic 8 sectional entrants came from the Oconomowoc regional (Oconomowoc, Waukesha North and Hartland Arrowhead) while three of the North Shore survivors came from the Plymouth regional (Mequon Homestead, Port Washington and West Bend West). The Classic 8 had three regional champions as well in Muskego and Oconomowoc in Division 1 and Catholic Memorial (Waukesha) in Division 2The Greater Metro advanced seven of its eight teams to sectional play, including regional champions Marquette (Milwaukee), Germantown and Brookfield Central. <h2>Most improved player</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=45rzYV_0tOYWbdD00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=45rzYV_0tOYWbdD00" width="1919" height="1080" ><figcaption>2023 WPGA Junior Championship | Jonas Fechner, Port Washington Wisconsin.Golf photo / ROB HERNANDEZ</figcaption></figure>Jonas Fechner, Port Washington. The Pirates junior broke 80 during WIAA postseason competition for the first time Wednesday, shooting 74 at Quit-Qui-Oc GC in Elkhart Lake to win the Division 1 Plymouth regional by two strokes and help his team advance to next week's sectional as a third-place finisher in the team standings.A year ago, Fechner shot 85 on that same course in that same regional to finish T-23 as Port Washington's season ended with a seventh-place finish. Fechner played six WPGA Junior Tour events last summer plus the WPGA Junior Championship and took a big step in his game this spring, winning the North Shore Conference Championship two weeks ago with a 74 at Erin Hills near Hartford, site of the 2017 U.S. Open.<h2>Comeback of the week</h2>Madison Memorial. The Spartans came this close to not qualifying their team to a Division 1 sectional they will host next week at Blackhawk CC in Madison, but survived a see-saw back nine at Lake Wisconsin CC in Prairie du Sac to earn the last of the four sectional team berths out of the Sauk Prairie regional.Memorial and Madison West shot matching 170s on the front nine, but — with the Regents in the early wave — the Spartans knew they had to beat the 318 score that their rivals put up. What a bumpy back nine it was.The Spartans picked up four strokes head-to-head on West on the 10th hole, then gave it back on the No. 11 to fall back into a tie with the Regents. Memorial fell two shots behind after the 12th, went two ahead after the 13th only to fall two shots behind after being unable to match West's 2-under total on the par-3 15th. Memorial fell another stroke behind after the 16th hole, but played the par-3 17th in 1-over to jump back ahead by one.The two teams both played the par-5 18th hole in even par. But it took a a birdie in the penultimate group from Memorial senior Owen Jungers (74), who shot 34 on the back nine, and a par from junior Nolan Wirtz (78), who shot 36 on his inward nine, for the Spartans to survive to play another week as a team. A shout-out to the high school golf parents who braved all kinds of weather this week to watch their golfers compete in the WIAA regionals. What did it look like on the front lines? Brad Kowieski of Rhinelander, watching his son Brody at the WIAA Division 1 Marshfield regional, shared this video as the rain fell at RiverEdge GC that forced this regional to be reduced to nine holes:<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">I don’t think the heavy stuff coming down for a while yet. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wiaa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Wiaa</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/marshfield?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#marshfield</a> it’ll be interesting to see if the course can take this for much longer. Very wet, lots of casual water. <a href="https://t.co/Xw1s1qJAYb">pic.twitter.com/Xw1s1qJAYb</a> — Brad Kowieski (@bradkowieski) <a href="https://twitter.com/bradkowieski/status/1792950898777379224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote><h2>Feat of the week</h2>To borrow a phrase from former Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora, "PLAYOFFS?!" Not another one.Since records of this nature aren't kept at WIAA headquarters in Stevens Point, we can only assume that the 2024 WIAA regionals set a new standard for most playoffs to decide sectional qualifiers. And the four on the course and one via a scorecard came in all shapes and sizes.At the Division 1 Monona Grove regional at The Oaks GC in Cottage Grove, there was a rare three-team playoff for the final two spots in the River Valley sectional after Stoughton, McFarland and Oregon tied for third with matching 333 scores. Stoughton (18) and McFarland (19) edged Oregon (22) on the first extra hole to advance — the first time McFarland has qualified for a sectional in Division 1 and the first time as a program since 2013 in Division 2."I have been a part of two-team playoffs as an assistant coach years ago, but this was a first for me to be a part of a three-team playoff," fourth-year McFarland coach Marty Kvalheim wrote in an email to Wisconsin.Golf of having all 15 players from the three teams tee it up on the same hole, with the four best scores counting for the team. "The 5s all teed off first followed by the 4s up to the 1s. Prior to teeing, everyone initialed their ball to avoid potential issues with any wrong ball situations. There was a good gallery around the tee, which amplified the excitement."At the Division 1 West De Pere regional at Fox Valley GC in Kaukauna, Hortonville edged Kaukauna 19-20 to advance to the Notre Dame (Green Bay) sectional. Sophomore No. 1 golfer Wesley Barker hit driver/9-iron to 20 feet and two-putted for birdie on the playoff hole, but his heroics would not have been possible, according to Polar Bears coach Travis Bauer, had sophomore No. 3 golfer Carter Rohde not rolled in a 20-foot putt to save bogey on the final hole of regulation to help force the playoff."(It) shouldn’t haven’t even been that close to be in the playoff in my opinion, but all five of our guys really showed up and played that playoff hole like champions," Bauer wrote in an email to Wisconsin.Golf.The other two playoffs took more than one hole to decide the sectional qualifier. At the Division 2 Kettle Moraine Lutheran (Jackson) regional at Washington County GC in Hartford, Grafton edged Kewaskum 20-21 on the second playoff hole after both teams shot 345 to finish T-4 — and just one shot behind third-place Lake Country Lutheran (Hartland) — and matched each other stroke-for-stroke (17-17) on the first extra hole. At the Division 3 Randolph regional at Fox Lake GC in Fox Lake, Wonewoc-Center/Hillsboro and Nekoosa needed three extra holes before Wonewoc-Center/Hillsboro prevailed 19-21."With all players on one hole along with the two coaches and a large group of players, coaches and fans from other teams, the environment was a big ball of excitement and nervousness," WC/H coach Ben Pooley wrote in an email to Wisconsin.Golf after his team got a routine par from No. 1 golfer Ben Koopman, an up-and-down par from junior Jerry Von Falkenstein and a solid bogey from No. 3 golfer Savannah Pooley after No. 4 golfer Hayden Erickson made a clutch par putt to force the tie on the first hole (No. 1) and No. 5 golfer Issac Thyne executed a recovery shot over the clubhouse en route to a scrambling bogey on the second hole (No. 9). "I've been lucky enough to go to some PGA Tour events. This had the feeling of a major championship or more like a Ryder Cup with the two teams going head-to-head."At the rain-shortened Division 2 Wisconsin Dells sectional at Wild Rock GC in Wisconsin Dells, bad weather prevented Berlin, Ripon and Wautoma/Wild Rose from having the same experience. Instead, WIAA tie-breaker procedures were implemented for postseason events cut short by weather and Ripon (106) topped the other two teams by two shots based on its aggregate score from Nos. 4 through 9 with sophomore No. 3 golfer Isaac Stollfus' birdie at the par-3 ninth hole — one of just three on the day — helping the Tigers play that hole in even-par to jump past Berlin (4-over) and pull away from Wautoma/Wild Rose (2-over) and secure the trip to sectionals.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

2024 WIAA state boys golf tournament: Rob Hernandez's regional report card

Mason Haupt, West De Pere. The UW-Green Bay recruit completed one of the most remarkable four-year regional resumes in WIAA boys golf tournament history Wednesday when he shot 4-under-par 69 at the West De Pere regional at Fox Valley Golf Club in Kaukauna and repeated as Division 1 regional champion with a seven-stroke victory over good friend and playing partner Aiden Cudney of Kimberly.

2024 WIAA state boys golf tournament: Rob Hernandez's regional report card

Comments / 0