CARMEL — Golf can be like a leaky roof sometimes. Plug one hole, and another one opens up.
Such was life for Columbus North junior Henry Kiel on Wednesday during the second and final round of the Boys Golf State Finals at Prairie View Golf Club.
After shooting a 5-over-par 77 during Tuesday’s first round, Kiel worked with the putter that had betrayed him. But while he fixed his problems in that area, his drives and irons went astray on Day 2, leading to a round of 84.
Kiel finished 17 shots over par, tied for 48th place on the individual scoreboard.
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“I don’t think I hit that many greens today,” he said. It’s kind of tough, putting really defensive … just trying to get up and down all the time.”
A double-bogey on the par-5 13th, his fourth hole of the day, set Kiel on a downward course early. He later had a string of four consecutive bogeys on holes 3 through 6 and ended his round without a birdie.
“It’s great making it to state because that was kind of my goal,” Kiel said, “but today just didn’t go how I thought it would. I thought I would play better than I did (Tuesday), but I just didn’t have it.”
Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger’s Logan Ryan won medalist honors after defeating Center Grove’s Noah Gillard in a playoff after both finished at 1-over-par 145. Carmel edged defending champion and top-ranked Center Grove 601-602 for the team title.
Columbus North returns its entire lineup from a team that lost out on a state berth on the fifth-score tiebreaker in the regional. The Bull Dogs seem optimistic that they can build on what their young team accomplished this spring.
“Hopefully starting now, the rest of the team will use that as motivation,” North coach Doug Bieker said. “I think next year will be a lot better than this year,” Kiel added. “(Scoring) 315 this year was pretty good, but I think we can definitely improve on that at regional next year.”
If the team is to return to its familiar spot in the state field, it’s likely that Kiel, along with classmate Drew Smith, will be leading the charge.
“I look for Henry to continue to work hard and continue to be one of the leaders on the team,” Bieker said. “I couldn’t be more proud of his efforts. … I’m happy and thrilled to be his coach.”
