Brady beats Brock, bags banner

Wishing the conference tournament was on another course, no problem. Falling into a playoff for the conference title, no problem. Hitting a tree with a tee shot on the second playoff hole, no problem. Defending an individual conference title, no problem.

Brady Knutson parred both playoff holes after he and Washington High School teammate Brock Sobaski each shot a 76 to tie for the medalist honors at the Southeast Conference boys golf tournament Tuesday at Washington Golf and Country Club. Sobaski's bogey on the second playoff hole gave Knutson the 2019 title as conference champion. He was also the 2018 champion after shooting a 76 and defeating Demons teammate Jacob Van Osdol on the first playoff hole.

'It feels great to be the conference champion,” Knutson said. 'I had to defend it. I think I like (the course) now. I guess I love this course. It was a goal to defend it. I am glad it was here after all.”

Mount Pleasant won the team title while Washington was second. Washington had won the team title the last two years.

'This feels great to be conference champions,” MP coach Rob Zeglen said. 'This was our goal coming into the tournament. We have had some pretty good teams the last few years and just fell short, taking second to Washington the last few years. It feels good to beat them on their home course.”

Mount Pleasant's Jake Moffett had the lead after the first nine holes, but finished with a 77 and placed third.

'He is doing OK,” Zeglen said about an obviously disappointed Moffett. 'The No. 8 hole here has been his nemesis hole. The first meet we played here, he took a 10 on that hole after he hit two balls out of bounds. When you are a kid, you are immature and it is just hard for you to get past that. I am very proud of the way he shot today. I don't think we could've asked for better. The kids did well. I am very proud of my whole team. These kids play golf pretty well.”

Moffett carded a an even-par 35 the first time around the nine-hole course, but but shot a 42 the second time that included three double bogeys.

'You can't do better than one, two,” Washington coach Collin Stark said. 'Having the top two guys tied for the conference title, you would have to consider that a good day. Our team place is about where we were thinking. Maybe it's not the score we wanted. It just wasn't a day that clicked for our three through six guys.”

Caleb Tanner shot 56-50 for a 106. Mitchell Driscoll posted 50-50 for a 100. John Prohaska had 61-62 for a 123. Grant Sobaski carded 58-49 for a 107.

Hopefully we get everyone playing the best at the right time and at the right moment Thursday.”

Although conference champion Knutson had said he didn't want conference on his home course after a bad round,” Stark said he was just talking.

'I think a lot of times, it is just mental,” Stark said. 'If you see the golf ball go in, then good things happen. Brady started well today, whereas the other day, he doubled the first hole. Sometimes the way you start determines the feel of the day. If you are feeling it, then your swing feels good, then you start making more consistent shots. Brock and Brady were both hitting the ball very well.”

Knutson posted a 36 his first nine holes, then shot 40 for the second nine. He had six pars, two bogeys and a birdie on his first nine. He closed with three pars, four bogeys, a double bogey and a birdie.

'I was hitting my driver straight and my putting was really good,” Knutson said. 'I think I had seven or eight one-putts and only one three-putt. That was a big difference for me. I think the best part of my round was that I was able to stay consistent. I didn't get too anxious and just stayed calm and played calm.”

Sobaski started with a 39 and closed with a 37 that included a chip-in birdie on his final hole.

'That was pretty great,” he said. 'I told myself I might as well chip in on the last hole because I haven't played great on the greens.”

He had an additional reason to sink his last shot from off the green.

'I started feeling raindrops on the last couple holes so we wanted to finish quickly and stay dry,” Sobaski said. 'I guess that's why I chipped in. I just wanted to get out of the rain.”

Sobaski also birdied his first hole of the day and finished his first nine with five bogeys and three pars. His second nine had five pars and three bogeys before finishing without having to pull his putter.

'I haven't been putting well,” Sobaski said. 'I had quite a few birdie putts, but the thing is I ended up with three-putts on a few of them.”

Despite struggling with the putter, he was able to maintain.

'I think the key was I did not have a total blowup hole,” Sobaski said. 'I did have some bogey streaks that I couldn't get out of, but then I would get some pars scattered in through there. It was an OK day I guess.”

If that is an OK day, then he and Knutson have good and/or great days left.

The first club out of the bag made the difference for both.

'It feels really good to connect on the tee shot,” Knutson said. 'My driver was hot,” Sobaski said. 'I was striping the ball down the middle just almost every hole except one hole I had a slice, but other than that, I was hitting the ball off the tee very well.”

From tee to green, from green to hole, consistent play was the key.

'My goal for the day was to get below a 75, but I guess I'll take my 76 because it wasn't a horrible round,” Sobaski said. 'There were plenty of other good golfers out here today so whatever happened, happened.”

There were no better ones than a pair of Demons.

'My goal was to shoot under 80 going into the day and I'm happy with my score,” Knutson said. 'This gives me a lot of confidence. I'm definitely ready to play at sectionals now.”

Washington starts the postseason when it plays at 10 a.m. Thursday at Flint Hills Golf Course in Burlington in the Notre Dame Sectional. Other teams in the meet will be Centerville, Fairfield, Ft. Madison, Keokuk, Notre Dame and West Liberty. Teams and individuals advancing from Sectionals will play their District meet at Edmundson Golf Course Thursday, May 16 at 10 a.m. and will be hosted by Oskaloosa.

Two teams advance unless one of the teams is the host school, then three teams advance.

The top two overall individual players (plus ties) at each site from among the non-qualifying teams will advance from each Sectional to District tournament. Similarly, the top two overall individual players (plus ties) at each site from among the non-qualifying teams will advance from each District to the state tournament.

'We've got one day to work on our games and it supposed to rain, so it's all about getting our three through six guys to have a good night's rest, thinking positive thoughts,” Stark said. 'A lot of the game is 90 percent mental. The idea is not to think, ‘oh I've been going the left,' but to think about how it feels when I hit the ball straight. If we get that in our minds then maybe it is just an overnight fix. The other thing would be the difference in courses. I'm not saying Flint Hills in Burlington is an easier course, but it definitely provides a different look and it's an 18-hole course instead of nine.”

TEAM SCORES - 1. Mt. Pleasant 328, 2. Washington 358, 3. Fairfield 364, 4. Ft. Madison 396, 5. Keokuk 407

MEDALISTS

1. Brady Knutson - Washington (76)*

2. Brock Sobaski, Washington (76)

3. Jake Moffett, Mt. Pleasant (77)

4. Trace White, Mt. Pleasant (81)

5. Bailey Shelledy, Mt. Pleasant (84)

6. Jackson Weaton, Fairfield (85)

*Won title on second playoff hole