GOLF: Nice save for Swan
Portage junior Lee Swan hits out of the sand trap on the 17th-hole during the Portage Invite Friday at the Portage Country Club. Swan rebounded from a poor start to finish third among the Division 1 field, while the Warriors placed fourth as a team. (Kevin Morales, Daily Register)
By Kevin Morales
If nothing else, Lee Swan is a man of his word.
Stumbling to a 4-over par start through three holes, Swan promised Portage golf coach Ed Carlson prior to the fourth hole he'd shoot even the rest of the way.
Swan shot 1-under par over the final 15 holes to finish with a season-best 75 and place third among the Division 1 field Friday at the Portage Invitational, hosted by Portage Country Club.
Reedsburg won the Division 1 team race with a score of 319, while Edgerton won in Division 2 with 315.
Waunakee's Matt Gorman earned Division 1 medalist honors with his tournament best 3-under par 69. Edgerton's Mike Hesselman topped the Division 2 field by carding a 1-under par 70.
While Swan's 75 led Portage, Travis and Mitch Seubert each shot 82 for the Warriors. Travis shot 37 on the front nine, "by far" a career-low through nine holes, Carlson said.
Carlson said both golfers are beginning to "get some confidence under their belts."
Keeping consistent with the spring sports season, Mother Nature altered play throughout the day.
Portage got in a brief warm-up before rain forced them inside.
"It was kind of rough to start the day because I don't think the team was focused and that's partially my fault, I've got to get them ready to go," said Carlson, the tournament's organizer. "Anytime you get out of your routine as a golfer or an athlete, I think it throws you off."
Such was the case for Swan. Thinking there would be ample warm-up time, Swan only hit left-handed before the delay and start of play.
"I just wasn't focused to start off. I was a little frustrated but I knew I could still bring it back," Swan said. "I like to goof around at practice and stuff but I'm finally starting to realize that it's more than (only) when you get to the course."
Swan shot consecutive bogies through the first two holes and a double-bogey on No. 3.
Swan responded by shooting two of his six birdies on No. 4 and No. 5 before shooting par on No. 6.
"I give him a lot of credit. He really, really turned his round around and he was determined," said Carlson of Swan. "That's good play on the last 15 holes."
Swan tied Reedsburg's Ellie Arkin with 75, but she won the playoff, which was determined by what each golfer shot on the third hole.
"I've got revenge coming," Swan said, adding it was the second time Arkin has beat him this season in that fashion.
With the weather-shortened season, Carlson said he was determined to get in at least nine holes for all the participating teams. He said his penchant for meteorology played a role in keeping the tournament on as scheduled.
"I'm kind of a weather nerd," Carlson said with a laugh. "So I was following the radar pretty good. And I think people were doubting when I was telling them it was gonna stop raining. But it turned out to be a pretty nice day."
PORTAGE INVITEat Portage CC, par 72
Division 1 Team Scores: Reedsburg 319, Sparta 322, Waunakee 324, Portage 329, Verona 330, Baraboo 333, Oshkosh North 340, Sauk Prairie 348, Wisconsin Dells 353, Portage (JV) 375, Adams-Friendship 468.
Division 2 Team Scores: Edgerton 315, River Valley 338, Lodi 342, Lake Mills 345, Mount Horeb 360, Richland Center 385, Mauston 390, Westfield 393, Wautoma 426.
Division 1 medalists — 1, Gorman (WAU) 69; 2, 2, Arkin (REE) 75; 3, Swan (POR) 75; 4, Walter (REE) 78; 5, Kaminski (BAR) 79; 6, Flint (REE) 79; 7, Clifford (SP) 79; 8, Lewis (VER) 79; 9, Siebert (BAR) 80; 10, Schmitz (SPA) 80.
Division 2 medalists — 1, Hesselman (EDG) 70; 2, Ozga (EDG) 78; 3, Dickinson (EDG) 78; 4, Johnson (RV) 79; 5, Jones (MH) 79; 6, Rieman (LODI) 80; 7, Umhoefer (RV) 80; 8, Dahlke (MAU) 81; 9, Lambrecht (LM) 81; 10, Hastings (LM) 83.
Division 1 Individuals: Adams-Friendship — Correll 106, Pease 114, Schultz 120, Uttenburger 128. Baraboo — Kaminski 79, Siebert 80, Dietzman 87, Petty 87, Taylor 94. Oshkosh North — Hoopman 82, Heun 84, Stindt 86, Norenberg 88, Hilgart 94. Portage — Swan 75, M. Seubert 82, T. Seubert 82, Vaughn 90, Heaps 97. Portage (JV) — Madsen 89, Oszman 94, Beirne 96, Pape 96, Hoff 105. Reedsburg — Arkin 75, Walter 78, Flint 79, Even 87, Schoell 89. Sauk Prairie — Clifford 79, Schwarz 83, Starr 89, Jones 97, Lang 100. Sparta — Schmitz 80, Brown 80, McMullen 81, Molland 81, Geier 94. Verona — Lewis 79, Feller 81, Zobel 84, Childers 86, Reinecke 90. Waunakee — Gorman 69, Fahlgren 83, Helt 86, Schmidt 86, Liddicoat 88. Wisconsin Dells — Royston 80, Kimball 88, Buesing 91, Ward 96, Krueger 94.
Division 2 Individuals: Edgerton — Hesselman 70, Ozga 78, Dickinson 78, Dorn 89, Miles 102. Lake Mills — Lambrecht 81, Hastings 83, Nass 90, Pooler 91, Zastrow 96. Lodi — Reimen 80, Hilgers 85, Thaden 86, Stoltenberg 91, Keener 93. Mauston — Dahlke 81, Pellegrini 83, Wiora 112, Lovelace 114, Sutter 133. Mount Horeb — Jones 79, Affeldt 90, Roberts 94, Kientz 97, Mueller 113. Richland Center — Gillingham 86, Rowin 94, Drake 97, Carley 108. River Valley — Johnson 79, Eumhoefer 80, Roessler 88, Voss 91, Nachreiner 93. Wautoma — Fedrick 91, Tschurwald 100, Tewinkle 117, Stapniewski 118, Girdauskas 119. Westfield — Johnson 87, Riordan 91, Ammundson 91, Potter 124.
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