Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
He didn't shoot the best score for Warsaw's varsity boys golf team Tuesday, not even the second-best, but according to Tiger coach Bob Turner, it was junior Matt Osbeck who may have played the biggest role in Warsaw topping Northern Lakes Conference rivals Wawasee and NorthWood.
"I think the guys can all thank Matt Osbeck," Turner said. "He was five over after six holes, and then he parred out. When you look at the scores of (Greg) Clay, (Aaron) Turner and (Adam) Johnson, they did a great job, but Matt Osbeck got us the win."
Warsaw won the three-way match with a 150, while Wawasee shot 152 and NorthWood 161.
Par for the first six holes at Rozella Ford reads like this, 4-3-5-4-3-4. Osbeck's scorecard for the first six holes read like this, 5-5-4-4-5-5. The junior shot par, 4, on the final three holes to finish with a round of 40, Warsaw's fourth-best score. The top four scores are taken from a five-man team in high school golf.
Johnson, a junior, led the Tigers with a 36, while classmates Clay and Turner finished with 37s. David Slater, listed as Warsaw's No. 4 golfer, finished the afternoon with a 41.
The win improves the Tigers to 12-2 overall and 4-0 in the conference, while Wawasee falls to 13-2 and 4-1 and NorthWood 4-9 and 1-4.
As expected, sophomore Stephen Conrad led the way for the Warriors. Normally listed as the Warriors' No. 1 golfer, Conrad played the No. 3 spot Tuesday with Johnson and shot a 1-under-34 to take medalist honors. Also for Wawasee, Justin Rider shot 39, Josh Abrams 40, Kyle Lundy 40 and Joel Bickel 39.
Eric Reynolds led NorthWood with a 37, followed by Nick Abel at 39, Cory Hepler at 41, C.J. Cunningham at 44 and Adam Leeper at 47.
Turner has coached the Tigers 10-plus years. He called Tuesday's match with Wawasee the closest he can remember.
"You aren't gonna lose very often when you shoot a 152," Turner said of Wawasee. "We have respect for them, and they have respect for us. The sad part of the whole deal is someone had to lose."
Warsaw and Wawasee will meet again June 2 in the sectionals, also at Rozella Ford.
Wawasee will host NLC rival Concord Thursday, while Warsaw will compete with conference foes Northridge and Goshen Thursday at Spring Meadow. NorthWood hosts Plymouth Thursday.
WARSAW 150, WAWASEE 152, NORTHWOOD 161
Warsaw scores - Greg Clay 37, Aaron Turner 37, Adam Johnson 36, David Slater 41, Matt Osbeck 40
Wawasee scores - Justin Rider 39, Josh Abrams 40, Stephen Conrad 34, Kyle Lundy 40, Joel Bickel 39
NorthWood scores - Nick Abel 39, C.J. Cunningham 44, Cory Hepler 41, Eric Reynolds 37, Adam Leeper 47
JV - WARSAW 161, WAWASEE 172,
NORTHWOOD 175
Warsaw scores - Joe Clevenger 39, Ben Brodhead 38, Nick Phillips 41, Brandon Conley 47, Brad Shellhart 43
Wawasee scores - Evan Gerard 37, Weade 43, Knuckles 45, Marshal 47, Jones 47
NorthWood scores - Zach Stavedahl 39, Kevin Yoder 42, Jacob Brubaker 45, Adam Hochstetler 49, Andrew Moneyheffer 51
Records
Warsaw: 12-2, 4-0 NLC (JV: 11-1, 4-0)
Wawasee: 13-2, 4-1 NLC (JV: 12-2, 4-1)
NorthWood: 4-9, 1-4 NLC (JV: 7-6, 1-4)
