While golfers inside the clubhouse at Stonehenge Golf Club were watching Tiger Woods play at sunny Augusta National Saturday, those outside were playing in the freezing, rain-laden Tiger Invitational.
"I know it snowed last year, but I can't imagine it being much worse than today," Triton senior T.J. Carpenter said, referring to last year's invitational that was cut short due to snow. "Last year, with it snowing, you didn't get wet. This year, you got wet. Coach had stuff for us after the turn, so I switched gloves and things like that. It lasted about four holes, then it got to the point that I couldn't feel my hands."Carpenter finished his 18 holes with an 82 on the par-71 course in about eight hours.
"I felt like I hit the ball well, I just didn't score like I wanted to," he said. "All-in-all, an 82's not a bad finish.
"The toughest part was the short putts," he added. "I didn't have much feel on those. I mean, your hands are numb and it's just kind of a guess."
Astonishingly, Marion's Brett Barnes fought threw the 39-degree weather, which featured falling ice for a period of time, to shoot a 75. Teamwise, Lake Central made its two-hour drive from northwest Indiana worth its while, taking first place with a score of 335.
"This is my first year, and I was blessed with seven great seniors," Lake Central coach John Schneider said. "We brought five with us today, and played well enough to win. The scores weren't great, but it was all about just grinding it out today."
Lake Central got an 81 from Stevan Ivetich and Ryan Schuldt, while two others also shot under 90, with Ronnie Prestamer finishing with an 85 and Joe Mista an 88.
"They're mentally tough," Schneider said. "They're very experienced golfers. They just know how to grind it out."
While Schneider's working with a senior-laden group, Warsaw coach Ben Barkey doesn't have that luxury. Warsaw's only returnee from last June's state championship meet at Legends of Indiana golf course is Corey Hensley.
"Today really helped us see what we can and can not do - limitations and course management," Barkey said. "You just have to take what the course gives you and move on."
Warsaw placed sixth of the 11 teams with a score of 360, led by Will Brown's 88. Hensley finished with a 90, followed by Scott Boyle's and Eric Tandy's scores of 91. Kal Denlinger finished the course with a 94.
With such inexperience on his team, Barkey's looking for improvement with each meet. However, with the conditions as they were Saturday, gauging improvement was tough.
"It's kind of hard to see where we're at with the weather, but you still have to compete," he said. "Everyone played in the same conditions. Obviously, with these young kids, warm weather would have helped us."
Despite Carpenter's 82, Triton brought up the rear at the meet, shooting a combined 389, with everyone outside of Carpenter finishing with a triple-digit score.
"The holes that were downwind definitely played better," Carpenter said. "The ones into the wind, were very difficult."
The Trojans, who won their own invitational at Rozella Ford April 5, will look to get back on track today at a three-way meet at John Glenn, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Warsaw will travel to Fort Wayne Blackhawk Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Team - Lake Central 335, F.W. Canterbury 345, Homestead 346, Marion 347, Leo 354, Warsaw 360, Culver Military Academy 368, Brownsburg 371, Rochester 374, Shelbyville 381, Triton 389
(Tiger Invitational, Stonehenge Golf Club)
Medalist - Brett Barnes (Marion) 75
Lake Central (335) - Stevan Ivetich 81, Ryan Schuldt 81, Ronnie Prestamer 85, Joe Mista 88, Kyle Hackel 92
Canterbury (345) - Kevin Argus 80, Austin DeGrof 85, Patrick Yurkanin 88, Brian Argus 92, Matthew Wiersema 95
Homestead (346) - Michael Mercier 82, Matt Wilson 87, Grant Sawyers 88, Brock Rohlfing 89, Nick Arnold 90
Marion (347) - Brett Barnes 75, Ross Hensley 84, Kyle Arenas 93, Nick Barnes 95, Spencer Hinkle 101
Leo (354) - Adam Turney 83, Chris Jakacki 89, Keegan Koeppe 90, Ben Dillon 92, Spencer Pannabecker 97
Warsaw (360) - Will Brown 88, Corey Hensley 90, Scott Boyle 91, Eric Tandy 91, Kal Denlinger 94
CMA (368) - Andrew Eiler 86, Kyler Scott 91, Matt Edwards 95, Adrian Negreros 96, Michael Glover 99
Brownsburg (371) - Chris Breslin 91, Jacob Western 91, Joe Gerking 94, Derek Owensby 95, Joe Coffman 104
Rochester (374) - Evan Hoff 91, Korbin Bennett 92, Tanner Lee 95, Mason Heyde 96, Aaron Nelson 107
Shelbyville (381) - Chase Yanzer 87, John Horner 92, Ben Hebbe 98, Andrew Lux 104, John Southworth WD
Triton (389) - T.J. Carpenter 82, Blake Schori 101, Taran Kennedy 102, Griffyn Carpenter 104, Erik Shafer 104
