EVANSVILLE - The zen movement continued to look awfully good on the Cheesemakers at Friday's Evansville Invitaional.
Monroe finished just six strokes off the winning pace, finishing fifth out of 17 teams with 330 strokes at the 18-hole shotgun start tournament that took nearly five hours to complete.
Brodhead senior Jaimie Pierson tied Edgerton's Dan Ozga for medalist honors with a 76. The Cardinals placed ninth as a squad with 347 strokes while Elkhorn took the team title with 324 strokes. New Glarus rounded out the field in last with 379.
Brandon Wilson led the way for Monroe with a 79; he is working hard at lowering his scores along with his blood pressure.
"He gets pretty emotional if he hits a bad shot, but he's been learning to pull things together and move on," Monroe coach and Monroe school district psychologist Jeriamy Jackson said.
Monroe's new ace, senior Gary Petit, is no stranger to tranquility. A cool customer who is very deliberate in sizing up all his shots, Petit showed off roaring drives and carded an 80 despite missing a lot of putts that he'd tell you he should have made.
Petit even flew the blacktop road on the second hole that slices across the 463-yard par-5 about 150 yards from the front of the green.
"Driving over that road is pretty much unheard of for a high school golfer," Jackson admired.
Unfortunately Petit, who has logged many hours in the weight room, then flew the green. Jackson says that with the newfound power will come some adjustment for Petit, who ended up with a bogey after pitching out of the trees that hug the back end of the elevated putting surface.
Petit carded twin 40s, but his coach isn't worried about the pressure that comes with filling some big golf shoes.
"You go from Nick Krattiger to Brent Quade ... that's tough, but I know he's ready to step in there," Jackson said. "He kind of keeps to himself and that's not a bad thing on the golf course."
Despite carding an 85, the usually fiery McArdle, Jackson's No. 2 ball-striker, kept an even keel. The junior posted at least a bogey in his first five holes but showed resilience in following a 46 front-nine with 39 on the back that included a birdie.
"You could just see him pump up," Jackson said. "Even if you're on a string of pars, you can get kind of mundane."
Aaron Krattiger's 86 didn't share his whole story as the junior had back-to-back birdies on his back nine before he caught a tough break on No. 16. While he put his ball in a bunker, he may not have deserved the little white ball wedging underneath the lip of the trap as he struggled to a double-bogey.
"But all in all, our guys had a great attitude out there today and that's what you like to see," Jackson said.
Monroe's foursome improved a combined eight strokes on the back nine even though rain intensified over the last third of the event.
Through the rain, Logan Lockard's 90 strokes were good enough to pace New Glarus from the No. 3 role.
While Pierson has made strides between every season by logging tons of hours during the summertime, his victory caught his coach a little by surprise.
"Honestly, it really was a surprise because he's struggled so far this year," Brodhead coach Brad Garthwaite said. Pierson shot a 47 in a dual meet the night before as he struggled with his putter.
After struggling with distance in his underclassman seasons, Pierson's flourished in all phases and has brought his teammates along for the ride.
"He's got such a nice swing and plays a ton of golf," Garthwaite said. "He's helped a lot of the guys on our squad because they play together all the time. I'm even moreso proud of that."
Monroe plays four events next week, first the Madison Edgewood Invitational at Maple Bluff at 11 a.m. on Monday.
Monroe finished just six strokes off the winning pace, finishing fifth out of 17 teams with 330 strokes at the 18-hole shotgun start tournament that took nearly five hours to complete.
Brodhead senior Jaimie Pierson tied Edgerton's Dan Ozga for medalist honors with a 76. The Cardinals placed ninth as a squad with 347 strokes while Elkhorn took the team title with 324 strokes. New Glarus rounded out the field in last with 379.
Brandon Wilson led the way for Monroe with a 79; he is working hard at lowering his scores along with his blood pressure.
"He gets pretty emotional if he hits a bad shot, but he's been learning to pull things together and move on," Monroe coach and Monroe school district psychologist Jeriamy Jackson said.
Monroe's new ace, senior Gary Petit, is no stranger to tranquility. A cool customer who is very deliberate in sizing up all his shots, Petit showed off roaring drives and carded an 80 despite missing a lot of putts that he'd tell you he should have made.
Petit even flew the blacktop road on the second hole that slices across the 463-yard par-5 about 150 yards from the front of the green.
"Driving over that road is pretty much unheard of for a high school golfer," Jackson admired.
Unfortunately Petit, who has logged many hours in the weight room, then flew the green. Jackson says that with the newfound power will come some adjustment for Petit, who ended up with a bogey after pitching out of the trees that hug the back end of the elevated putting surface.
Petit carded twin 40s, but his coach isn't worried about the pressure that comes with filling some big golf shoes.
"You go from Nick Krattiger to Brent Quade ... that's tough, but I know he's ready to step in there," Jackson said. "He kind of keeps to himself and that's not a bad thing on the golf course."
Despite carding an 85, the usually fiery McArdle, Jackson's No. 2 ball-striker, kept an even keel. The junior posted at least a bogey in his first five holes but showed resilience in following a 46 front-nine with 39 on the back that included a birdie.
"You could just see him pump up," Jackson said. "Even if you're on a string of pars, you can get kind of mundane."
Aaron Krattiger's 86 didn't share his whole story as the junior had back-to-back birdies on his back nine before he caught a tough break on No. 16. While he put his ball in a bunker, he may not have deserved the little white ball wedging underneath the lip of the trap as he struggled to a double-bogey.
"But all in all, our guys had a great attitude out there today and that's what you like to see," Jackson said.
Monroe's foursome improved a combined eight strokes on the back nine even though rain intensified over the last third of the event.
Through the rain, Logan Lockard's 90 strokes were good enough to pace New Glarus from the No. 3 role.
While Pierson has made strides between every season by logging tons of hours during the summertime, his victory caught his coach a little by surprise.
"Honestly, it really was a surprise because he's struggled so far this year," Brodhead coach Brad Garthwaite said. Pierson shot a 47 in a dual meet the night before as he struggled with his putter.
After struggling with distance in his underclassman seasons, Pierson's flourished in all phases and has brought his teammates along for the ride.
"He's got such a nice swing and plays a ton of golf," Garthwaite said. "He's helped a lot of the guys on our squad because they play together all the time. I'm even moreso proud of that."
Monroe plays four events next week, first the Madison Edgewood Invitational at Maple Bluff at 11 a.m. on Monday.
