Golf season off to a good start with a 338 at Mosinee

The 2023 golf season finally began Tuesday for the Medford Raiders, who showed why they were so anxious to get competition started this spring.

The Raiders opened with a solid team score of 338 at Tuesday’s first Great Northern Conference meet, hosted by Mosinee at the par-72 Indianhead Golf Course. That was good for a second-place finish, seven strokes behind Lakeland, who extended its GNC meet winning streak to 29.

Medford juniors Conner Lingen and Riley Viergutz finished fourth and fifth individually with scores of 81 and 82. Lingen parred 11 holes and was over bogey only once. Viergutz’s round included birdies on the par-4 second hole, par-5 seventh hole and the par-3 15th. He parred five holes and was just 2-over-par at 38 on the front nine holes.

Raider sophomore Zachary Hintz was part of a five-way tie for sixth place with his score of 86 that included a 41 on Indianhead’s back nine. He parred nine holes including two of the course’s four par-5s. Senior Lucas Liske tied Gabe Smith of Northland Pines for 11th place with 89 that included a birdie on the par-3 sixth hole. Junior Aidan Ball filled the fifth spot in the lineup in the season opener and shot an even 100 with 50s on each half of the course.

Mosinee was a distant third in the team standings with a score of 363. The Indians were followed by Northland Pines (375), Rhinelander (377), Antigo (388) and Tomahawk (394).

Lakeland’s Gray Wagner and Mosinee’s Jett Walters tied for first place individually with 76s. Lakeland’s Jack Rubo was third with a 77. Earning three points apiece in the five-way tie for sixth were Cody Parsons of Antigo, Matt Haggart of Lakeland, Owen Dickrell of Tomahawk, Samuel Schoppe of Rhinelander and Hintz.

Great Northern Conference play will continue at Medford’s Black River Golf Course on Friday at 3 p.m. The meet was switched to Medford from its originally-scheduled site of Rhinelander, which will now host on May 8. The third meet is in Antigo Tuesday and the fourth meet is at Northland Pines on May 4.

The Raiders have also added a couple of non-conference meets to their schedule. They were at the Sheboygan Falls Invite at The Bull at Pinehurst Farms Golf Course on Wednesday. On May 3, Medford will be at the Holmen Invitational at The Golf Club at Cedar Creek in Onalaska.