FRANKLIN — Make no mistake about it — the Indiana Golf Association 2020 Team Event can’t fully duplicate what IHSAA regional and state tournaments could provide.
But what the IGA has done in putting on a team tournament for high school boys golfers has gone a long way in filling the void that they were missing when their spring season was canceled.
“We were very disappointed to hear the IHSAA was going to cancel the season, and then the Indiana Golf Association and coaches association wanted to have a tournament,” said Andrew Weisheit, who coached the winning Harrison Lakers team at a Monday qualifer. “We have a nice day out here at The Legends Golf Club to really represent Harrison Lake as the Harrison Lakers and really just kind of let these kids have a season that they missed out on.”
Weisheit, an assistant pro at Harrison Lake Country Club, had a mixture of golfers from three schools. The Lakers featured three from Columbus North, one from Columbus East and one from Greenwood.
The team carded a 314 to win by one shot over Center Grove Legacy and New Castle.
“It felt good,” said Willy Davis, who will be a sophomore at North. “We at least salvaged something of the golf season. It felt good to compete again and to compete for something that meant something.”
That competition was something local golfers have been missing this spring. While some have played in junior tournaments, they haven’t been able to match the intensity and competitiveness of high school tournaments, especially the postseason ones.
Monday’s qualifier, with a full parking lot, modest galleries following some groups and a crowd around the scoreboard waiting for the final results, felt like a major IHSAA event.
“It felt nice being back out there competitive-wise,” said Michael Giambiani, who will be a senior at North. “I’ve been practicing as much as I can during the quarantine break. But being competitive and playing with guys from other schools felt nice. It felt like being back in season.”
On Monday, Gambiani played for the Columbus Sandbaggers with four other North golfers. That team finished eighth with a 347.
“It felt good to be with the team, it felt good to play, and it felt good just to go out there and have some fun,” said Jacob Niedbalski, who led the Sandbaggers with an 83. “I feel like there was a lot less stress and more just going out there and trying to have fun.”
The top two teams from the qualifier advanced to the state finals, which will be Wednesday and Thursday at Purdue’s Kampen Course. Following Monday’s round, some of the Lakers were talking about possibly heading to West Lafayette today to play a practice round.
“We need to get up there, look at the course, get some practice in and hopefully do pretty well,” said Kody Reynolds, who will be a senior at East.
The Lakers team also features North’s Jack Schiavello and Greenwood’s Jackson Watkins. Watkins led the team with a 76 on Monday.
After beating the top team from perennial power Center Grove in the qualifier, the Lakers are confident they can play with just about anybody at the state finals.
“We have a bunch of good guys on our team who can play well,” Schneider said. “We just have to pull it together. I know the course is extremely hard up there, but I think we have a good shot if we play well.”
Ted Schultz is sports editor for The Republic. He can be reached at [email protected] or 812-379-5628.
