A pair of golfers at the end of the spectrums of their prep careers captured championship at the Lake Region Conference Golf Tournament at Rolling Hills Golf Course on Thursday.
Faulkton senior Drake Mueller topped the boys’ field, while Warner freshman Delaney Johnson won the girls’ crown.
Faulkton also won the boys’ team title by eight strokes over Warner. The Trojans edged Warner by four strokes for the girls’ team title.
Mueller finished with a 75, and said his score could have been much better if not for a rough ending.
“I played pretty good. I had a rough last couple of holes, but that’s alright,” Mueller said. “I doubled and bogeyed my last two holes.”
The event was played on a nine-hole course, so golfers played each hole twice.
“You know what to do the next time around,” Mueller said of his second nine.
So does that mean the last nine holes will produce better scores than the first nine?
“Yes and no,” Mueller said. “Golf’s a weird game and it takes the worst of you.”
The weather conditions played a role on the day, ranging from sunshine to rain and nearly everything in between.
“It’s a little annoying. One second you’re like, oh finally the weather’s good and the next second it’s like raining on you,” Mueller said. “The wind, we’ve played in worse this year, but it still wasn’t great. You just had to keep going and keep hitting.”
The conference title was a first for Mueller and he plans on using it as a springboard for the rest of his season.
“It feels good. I’ve had a rough start to my senior year,” he said, ” but this is just the beginning and it’s only going to get better from here.”
Mueller would like to cap his career with a state championship.
“I got 15th was my closest,” Mueller said, “but I’ve been putting in a lot of work and if I stay out of my head, I think I’ll be alright.”
Warner’s Hayden Liebl was runner-up in the boys with a 77.
Johnson was able to maintain her lead down the stretch to record her first LRC title.
“I knew it was probably coming down to the last straw there, and I had to play it smart,” Johnson said.
She got into a little trouble on her final hole, but was able to regroup and avoid a big number.
“I just had to forget about the last shot,” Johnson said, “and move on to the next shot.”
Johnson said her latest victory will likely only add pressure at future meets.
“It’s just going to be a lot weight, knowing that I did win this,” Johnson said, “and then a lot of weight on my shoulders for regions and pre-regions.”
Johnson, whose sister Ellis was second with a 95, and other sister Amelia was 12th, had to deal with the unpredictable elements just like all of the other participants.
“It was very on and off,” Johnson said. “It was sunny at one point and then it’s raining and so windy. It was a whole roller-coaster of weather today.”
However, she was able to block out the distractions on the way to tying her career best total of 91.
“I was just focused on my shot and not really worried about the weather,” Johnson said.
She cited two elements that were key to her winning round.
“My irons were really good today,” Johnson said, “and my driver being on the fairway.”
To see complete tournament results, click on the following link:
