Catholic Central senior flirts with leaderboard at state meet
By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
After two near picture-perfect days at Madison’s University Ridge, Catholic Central’s Jeff Stemper finished his time as a Hilltopper as one of the best high school boys golfers in the state.
Stemper finished with a two-day total of 164 and tied for eighth place after carding rounds of 77 and 87 in the WIAA Division 3 Boys State Golf Championships Tuesday at University Ridge in Madison.
Stemper shot a 79 June 2 and qualified for the state meet in a Division 3 sectional tournament at Whispering Springs Golf Course in Fond du Lac. He finished fifth overall.
The top two teams and top three individuals who do not play for one of the top two teams advance from the sectional to the state tournament.
For the state meet, University Ridge played as a par 72 course 6,477 yards long.
“He was tied for second place after day one, and really showed what he had to offer, despite making a double bogey on the first hole of the tournament,” Hilltoppers coach Matthew DeLorme said.
Stemper shot a 77 Monday in a round that included nines of 39 and 38.
On Tuesday, Stemper played his first nine on University Ridge’s back-nine, and said he was 2-over through eight holes.
On his ninth hole, No. 18 – a 408-yard par four – Stemper finished with a triple bogey after a ruling that he said still puzzles him and DeLorme.
Stemper said he hit the green in two strokes. His putt for birdie rolled past the hole.
“Someone else placed the flag in a poor position, and my ball touched the flag stick on the ground,” Stemper said. “I incurred a two-stroke penalty for just touching the flag stick.”
Stemper said he and DeLorme decided that is when his round turned. Instead of making the turn 3-over par at 39, Stemper was 5-over par at 41.
Stemper finished with a 46 on his second nine, which was University Ridge’s front nine.
Mineral Point’s Taylor Ryman won the Division 3 individual title with a two-day score of 152. St. Mary’s Springs of Fond du Lac won the Division 3 team title with a four-man team score of 667.
“Jeff has been an amazing piece to our team and school over these past four years,” DeLorme said. “He has made some great strides since freshman year. He has always been a great leader to our team.”
Stemper advanced to state last season as a junior and tied for 16th. DeLorme said Stemper advanced to the sectional meet in each of his four years at Catholic Central.
Stemper won two Division 3 regional meets and finished with either First or Second Team All-Metro Classic Conference honors in each of his four years.
Stemper will attend UW-Green Bay in the fall on a golf scholarship.
Looking for more Catholic Central sports photos from the spring? All you have to do it visit us on Facebook on the Standard Press Sports page.
There, you will find state track, golf and playoff softball photos.
Have a story idea? Please email Sports Editor Mike Ramczyk at [email protected].
-
-
-
-
-