By Tim Wester
Sports Correspondent
For the second straight year, Union Grove’s boys golf team conquered Racine County.
Union Grove repeated as Racine County Invitational champions with a tournament-best 341. That was 11 strokes better than Racine St. Catherine’s, who finished second overall Thursday, May 3 at Rivermoor Golf Club in Waterford.
“We were pretty pleased to come out with a first-place finish today, Union Grove coach Eric Swanson said. “The course had very fast greens that caused most of the players some problems, but we handled the conditions well enough to win.”
The Broncos’ remarkable afternoon was buoyed by medalist Connor Brown’s 3-over par 73. The sophomore finished two strokes better than Racine St. Catherine’s Jack O’Brien and Burlington’s Justin Meseberg, who tied for second with a 75 apiece. Brown became the first Bronco medalist in the tournament’s near 20-year history.
“Connor was great Thursday,” Swanson said. “He was solid throughout this round.”
“This is the first time in Racine County Invite history that a Union Grove player has won medalist honors, and only the second time that our team has won the tournament, which is pretty exciting for our program.”
Bronco senior Eric Chambers wasn’t too shabby either, finishing fifth in the tournament with an 83.
“Eric hit the ball well off the tee today, but struggled on his approach shots,” Swanson said.
Nick Tracy, meanwhile, finished 15th overall with a 92, while Taylor Maxwell and Sam Letsch each shot a 93 to round out the Bronco scorers.
“It was kind of the story with our players of hitting the ball well off the tee but struggling with approach shots,” Swanson said. “But we did enough to win it as a team.”
Brown certainly did his part for the team at the Southern Lakes Conference Major No. 4 May 2 at Brown’s Lake Golf Course in Burlington.
Brown tied Burlington’s Justin Meseberg with a 3-over par 75 for first in the tournament. Meseberg eventually won the tiebreaker to earn medalist honors.
Brown’s effort helped Union Grove finished fourth overall at 346, well behind winner Lake Geneva Badger (316).
“Connor has just been outstanding this past week in both tournaments,” Swanson said. “He is really hitting his stride this season.”
Brown looks to be forming a talented duo with Bronco senior Eric Chambers, who finished just three strokes behind the champion, tying with Badger’s Blake Wisdom and Jackson Rademaker for third place.
The Broncos look to better their performance at Brown’s Lake when they return to the course tomorrow for another tournament that includes conference foes Delavan-Darien, Waterford, Westosha Central, Burlington, and Wilmot. Other competing teams include Franklin, Kenosha Bradford, and Oak Creek.
-
-
-
-
-