Highland boys complete busy week with 2nd place finish in MVC two-man scramble
After playing three matches in four days, the Highland boys golf club capped off a busy week with a strong performance at the Mississippi Valley Conference two-man scramble tournament.
The Bulldogs putted and drove their way to a first place tie with Mascoutah for the tournament championship Friday at Oak Brook Golf Course in Edwardsville. HHS shot a 212 for the day and the performance capped off a productive but challenging week.
“We’ve played four events this week, four different sets of greens going out there and trying to adjust and we continue to work on trying to get better with adjusting to different greens,” Highland coach Brent James said.
Evan Sutton and Jake Brauns paired and shot a 67 to take second place. Bryce Knackstedt and Dominic Imig played together and shot a score of 71. Connor Reinarman and Jaxton Black paired up and shot a 74 for the day on the par-71 course at Oak Brook.
The format was a unique one in which the first six holes were a scramble followed by the second six holes played as a shamble and then the final six holes were a reverse scramble.
“A reverse scramble, which I or none of the boys had ever played before, is an interesting concept where each boy plays their own ball until they get on the green. Once they get on the green, then they elect which ball they want to play and then they scramble from that ball,” James said. “This event is kind of a nice little fun event we do to kind of break things up in the middle of the season.”
Highland cruises against O’Fallon, Triad
A day earlier on Thursday, the Bulldogs rolled past O’Fallon and Triad at home in a tri-match at Highland Country Club. HHS shot a blazing 156 to win its first home match of the season. O’Fallon was second with a 171 and Triad was third with a 175.
“It was our first match at home and the boys played very well. A slight wind was a factor but any time we’re in the 150’s, it’s a good day,” James said.
Sutton and Black led the way for Highland as co-medalists with each shooting a 37 at one over par.
“Evan is continuing to play good golf and this week he’s just really been mentally grinding out par after par,” James said. “Jaxton is such a good player and he finally got everything in sync on Thursday and had a very nice round.”
Brauns shot a 38 and Imig scored a 44 to round out Highland’s scoring. The 38 was Brauns’ best nine-hole round of the season so far.
O’Fallon had not played at Highland Country Club since 2017 and the lack of experience there was tough on the Panthers.
“If it’s your first time going out to it (the course) and not seeing it, it’s tough (to play),” James said. “They (O’Fallon) are a strong team and they didn’t play as well as they normally do.”
Bulldogs perform well in other recent matches
Earlier in the week on Tuesday, the Bulldogs defeated Granite City and Triad in a tri-match at Legacy Golf Course in Granite City. Highland shot a 158 to win the match while Triad finished second with a 163 and Granite City placed third with a 183.
Sutton took medalist honors with a 36. Emig shot a 40, Brauns fired a 41, and Black shot a 42.
The Bulldogs started the week off Monday with a tri-match MVC win over Waterloo and Mascoutah at Acorns Golf Links in Waterloo. HHS shot a 158, Waterloo shot a 167, and Mascoutah was third with a 173.
Sutton was the medalist with a 37 followed by Black with a 39, while Knackstedt shot a 40, and Brauns shot a 42.
“We were really consistent in our nine-hole matches this week,” James said.
Arrow point up for Highland
James said the team is trending in a good direction and that he is pleased with where they are at after the first three weeks of the season.
“The boys are playing well and from their hard work they put in this summer it’s paid off for the time being,” James said.
The Bulldogs have a week off until they play a coed tournament at Tamarack Golf Course in Shiloh on Thursday, Sept. 10. The break comes at a good time for HHS.
“I know it’s almost the best thing we can do (now) to kind of step off and reset with a long weekend and they’re definitely mentally ready for a break when we’re playing nearly every day like this, so it will be nice for them to take off a few days and reset,” James said.