Schlabaugh leads Golden Hawks at West Liberty

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 4/28/22

The Golden Hawk boys  faced some of the top individuals and teams in the state at the West Liberty Golf Course  on Tuesday, April 26. 

The defending 2A state champions from West …

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Schlabaugh leads Golden Hawks at West Liberty

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The Golden Hawk boys  faced some of the top individuals and teams in the state at the West Liberty Golf Course  on Tuesday, April 26. 

The defending 2A state champions from West Branch edged Tipton by one stroke 334-335 to claim the West Liberty Invitational championship. Tiger senior Bob Ryan was the medalist with an 18-hole score of 78. 

It was an up and down day for the Golden Hawks and Mid-Prairie’s lone senior Ian Schmidt. 

“I had a couple holes sprinkled in there that were pretty good and a couple of shots that I definitely liked,” Schimdt said. “But you know, there's also those holes that don't go as planned and you’ve just got to come back from those and be the best you can.”

Schmidt was one over on the par-four sixth hole and then made par on hole eight to finish the front nine with a 56. He bounced back from a tough sixth hole  the second time through for bogeys on seven and eight to finish the day at 114. 

The Golden Hawks shot a 207 on the back nine after opening with a team total of 212 on the first nine holes, but coach Kelby Bender saw some room for improvement. 

“We didn't play as well as we wanted to today,” he said. “The greens were firm and fast and it took us little to adjust. It seemed like a couple of holes kept a good round from being a great round or turned a good round into a not so good round.”

Sophomore Drew Schlabaugh led the Golden Hawks with a total of 93 strokes, tying for 21st individually out of 70 golfers. 

“At the beginning of that back nine, I didn’t do so hot,” Schlabaugh said, “but in the middle of the front nine, I thought I played a couple holes that were pretty good.”

Schlabaugh made par on four and eight on the front nine and was no worse than one over par on holes one through five. 

While the conditions were not the worst Mid-Prairie has seen this season, the weather still presented a challenge.

“The wind definitely made it difficult to get it on the green and for long shots,” Schlabaugh said. “After a while it kind of stopped, but then it got worse.”

Schlabaugh shot 46 and 47 to lead the Golden Hawks, and Warren Scarff finished with 49 and 52 for a total of 101. 

Ben Mattes had one particularly tough hole as he opened with a 61 on the front nine, but Bender was happy with his response. 

“I am proud of how he bounced back, forgot about it and shot a 50 on the back nine for a 111,” he said.

Carson Pence had his best stretch on holes six and eight the second time through, finishing with five strokes on each of the par-fours on the way to a total of 138. 

“We will learn from this and get back to work at practice the rest of the week,” Bender said about the day. 

The Golden Hawks are off until Monday, May 2 when they host West Liberty in Kalona. The River Valley Conference meet will be held on Tuesday at the Muscatine Municipal Golf Course.