Several highs and a few lows in solid state showing for Lingen

WIAA DIV. 2 STATE GOLF

Medford’s Connor Lingen was in the top 10 and in medal contention after Monday’s opening day at the WIAA Division 2 state golf championships, but a tougher second day pushed him to a 22nd-place finish in his first state appearance.

Lingen ended a strong junior season with scores of 77 and 88 on the par-72 Meadow Valleys Course at Blackwolf Run in Kohler. His 77 on Monday had Lingen tied for ninth place at the time and just five strokes behind leader and eventual repeat Division 2 champion Winston Knobloch of Winneconne.

After returning home, Lingen said Wednesday his strong first-day score was accomplished despite the fact he never got into a groove with his putter. On day two, he said things never really came together the way he had hoped. He fought through it and had just two big numbers on the scorecard through 15 holes, but a nine on the par-5 16th did him in.

“I was hitting it well,” Lingen said of his Monday afternoon round. “It was just really my putting. I had a couple of big numbers that day and it was really just because of my putting. I shot well. Everything besides putting was going great.”

Lingen got his first look at the Meadow Valleys Course in a practice round Sunday afternoon, where he said his biggest takeaway was learning “where you want to miss if you miss the green.”

He understandably had some nerves when he teed off at noon Monday on the 10th hole while paired up with Trey Reilly of Wautoma-Wild Rose, Andrew Kettle of Sheboygan Falls and eventual sixth-place medal winner Pierce Zimmel of Lomira.

Lingen double bogeyed the 330-yard, par-4 10th, which features a narrow fairway surrounded by woods before dog-legging to the right. But he came back with a birdie on the par-5, 522-yard 11th, sinking about a 15-foot putt, which settled him down.

He parred the next two holes and then birdied the 384-yard, par-4 14th to get to even through five holes. He finished the back nine at 1-over-par 37.

“I played a pretty solid first nine with a 37,” he said. “After I made the turn, I had a pretty stupid bogey on

May your drives be long

one from only 100 yards out. That was tough. I made a good birdie on hole 4, a par-5. I went for it in two, I put it just off the edge and then I chipped on and made like a 5-footer. Then I made a birdie on the next par-5 (hole seven).”

Lingen was an impressive 3-under on the course’s four par-5 holes on Monday. Going 4-over on the four par-3s was one thing he wished he could do over.

“I was happy,” he said. “But I knew I could’ve made more shots. With my putting, I know I could’ve shot five better at least.”

Knobloch shot an even-par 72 Monday and held a one-shot lead over Kettle and Madison Edgewood’s Alex Weiss. Charlie Darrow from the University School of Milwaukee and Dawson Fish of Appleton Xavier were tied for fourth at 75. Edgerton’s Owen Wagie and two golfers from Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Isaiah Schaser and Collin Draeger tied for sixth at 76. Lingen and Zimmel were part of a five-way for ninth with their 77s.

Lingen teed off on hole one at 7:20 a.m. on Tuesday, paired with Kettle, Darrow and Nicholas Mueller of St. Croix Central. He opened by parring two par-4s. After a double bogey on the par-3 third hole, Lingen parred three more holes to remain 2-over through six. After a bogey on the par-5 seventh, a triple bogey on the par-3, 176-yard eighth was the spot where he got off track a bit.

“Eight was a par-3 that I went in the water on,” Lingen said. “I was pretty mad after that. I went in the water again on nine, but I made bogey still.”

He ended the front nine at 43 and then got a par on the 10th hole.

“I got myself into a better mindset going into the next nine, knowing it was a new nine,” Lingen said. “But my ball-striking just wasn’t there on the back nine or even the front nine. I couldn’t really hit the ball. I couldn’t putt.”

Three straight bogeys and two pars put him 10-over for the round going into 16, where a third shot that was shanked well to the right and into tall grass, led to his nine. He parred the par-3 17th before closing with a double bogey on 18.

All in all, Lingen said his first state meet was a great experience that he looks to build from. He said the biggest mental challenge of the state meet was just getting through the first couple of holes.

He has plans to challenge himself further both on the physical and mental parts of the game with some summer tournaments. He and his teammates have high hopes for 2024 when four of the five varsity players return from a team that finished second in the Great Northern Conference, won the Rice Lake regional and took fourth at the McDonell-Regis sectional.

“It doesn’t really matter what other people are shooting,” Lingen said. “You just try to shoot what you can shoot.”

Knobloch’s two-day score was 147, equaling his championship score from 2022. He finished three shots ahead of Weiss. Edgewood’s Zeke Boos and Peshtigo’s Grant Bauman both shot 74s on Tuesday to shoot up to a tie for third place. Darrow claimed the fifth-place medal at 152 and Zimmel tied Edgewood’s Al Deang for sixth at 154. Fish and Kettle tied for eighth at 156.

Edgewood continued its WIAA Division 2 team dynasty, winning its sixth straight state championship, not including the canceled 2020 season. The Crusaders posted a two-day team score of 615 (307-308). Winneconne took home the second- place trophy at 638 (325-313), while Kettle Moraine Lutheran was third at 656 (324-332) and Edgerton was fourth at 666 (322-344).

McDonell-Regis (667), Xavier (668), Amery (673) and Berlin (696) filled out the bottom half of the standings.

In Division 1, Medford’s Great Northern Conference rival Lakeland tied Hartland Arrowhead for 11th place in the team standings with a two-day score of 658 The Thunderbirds shot a 334 on Monday and a 324 on Tuesday. The T-Birds were led by Matt Haggart’s score of 154, which tied him for 11th place, and Jack Rubo’s score of 155, which tied him for 15th. Rhinelander’s Samuel Schoppe qualified individually and was 101st with a 190.

Sheboygan North shot a 614 to knock off defending state champion Eau Claire Memorial by eight strokes. Eau Claire Memorial’s Parker Etzel shot a 3-underpar 69 on Monday and then held on after shooting a 78 on Tuesday to claim the individual championship with a 147, two shots better than KC Nickel of Waunakee.

Medford head coach Matt Haase and Connor Lingen talk before Lingen’s second shot on the 16th hole during Tuesday’s play at the WIAA Division 2 state golf championship.PHOTOS BY JEREMY MAYO/NORTHWOODS RIVER NEWS

Medford’s Connor Lingen follows through and watches his tee shot on the 16th hole during Tuesday’s play at the WIAA Division 2 state golf championships. Lingen, Medford’s first state qualifier since Spenser Scholl in 2017, shot rounds of 77 and 88 to place 22nd out of 52 Division 2 golfers at 165.JEREMY MAYO/NORTHWOODS RIVER NEWS