Ostrom Wins State Championship FRANKLIN – Over the course of the two-day state finals at The Legends in Franklin, just about the only thing that put a damper on Tyler Ostrom’s performance was Wednesday’s five-hour rain delay. Other than a heavy shower and some lightning prior to yesterday’s second round, the sun certainly shone on the 17-year-old Warsaw Community High School senior-to-be, who shot a 36-hole score of 137 to win the 75th annual boys golf state tournament. Only Brownstown Central’s Chris Baker (135 in 2003) and Columbus North’s Tyler Duncan (136 in 2007) have ever posted better two-day state finals scores than Ostrom. “The big thing was staying aggressive and not making any big mistakes,” Ostrom said after his steady round of 2-over 74 Wednesday, which included a double-bogey on No. 1 and then 17 consecutive pars in less than ideal conditions. “I didn’t want to take the double, but it didn’t hurt me as bad as it could have.” Opening Wednesday’s second round with a double bogey didn’t hurt Ostrom because he fired a 9-under 63 Tuesday, tying the state finals 18-hole record set by Duncan in 2007. Ostrom, who birdied his last five holes Tuesday to tie the record, became the first boys golf player from WCHS to win an individual state title and just the second Warsaw player overall to accomplish the feat, joining two-time girls state champion Emily Johnson (2003 & 2006). Warsaw’s Matt Johnson finished second in 1988, losing to Seymour’s Kyle Wieneke by one stroke. “It may be cliché, but nobody deserves it more than him,” Warsaw coach Ben Barkey said of Ostrom. “He’s a great kid, leader, teammate, student, son....the list goes on and on. He’s very special, and that’s obvious in the way he carries himself, and the way he cares about his teammates.” Zionsville freshman Adam Wood shot 71-68-139 to finish second, while Avon senior Patrick Rodgers and Norwell senior McCormick Clouser shot two-day totals of 141 and tied for third. Triton sophomore Quentyn Carpenter shot 72 Tuesday and 79 Wednesday, finishing in a two-way tie for 24th place among the 126 golfers that competed. “It’s another state championship for Warsaw,” said Barkey, who guided the Tigers to the 2005 team state championship. “Tyler is a kid the school and the community and all of us can be proud of. All of the guys on this team are great kids. As a team, we didn’t finish as well as we would have liked, but all these kids have worked hard. And I’m proud of every one of them.” As a team, second-ranked Warsaw shot a two-day, four-person score of 613 and finished seventh. After shooting 293 Tuesday, Warsaw was in fifth place but dropped after a 320 Wednesday. Other scores for the Tigers included senior Eric Tandy’s 73-82-155, sophomore Jon Schram’s 80-80-160, sophomore Tim Ahlersmeyer’s 77-84-161 and junior Bennett Hollar’s 88-87-175. Third-ranked Brebeuf Jesuit, via a fifth-man tiebreaker, repeated as team state champion after shooting a two-day total of 591. No. 19 Columbus North, which shot a state finals record 283 Tuesday, also shot 591 and finished second, while eighth-ranked Norwell (295-300-595) was third and top-ranked Zionsville (297-302-599) and No. 18 Floyd Central (291-308-599) tied for fourth. While Brebeuf repeated as the team state champion, Ostrom’s performance kept Avon senior Patrick Rodgers from finishing his prep career with back-to-back individual state titles. Ostrom and Rodgers played in a threesome with Terre Haute South’s Thomas Goss Wednesday. Goss shot 68 Tuesday, but struggled Wednesday and finished in a four-way tie for 16th after shooting 80 in the second round. Rodgers, who won the Fred A. Keesling Mental Attitude Award, is ranked third in the national junior rankings and 17th in the world amateur rankings. Rodgers tied for fourth at state as freshman, was second as a sophomore and won it all as a junior. He was, as a story published in the Indianapolis Star said, the “overwhelming favorite.” And Rodgers played well, finishing 3-under over the two days, but it was the humble, team-first-minded Ostrom who earned the moniker 2011 state champion. “I’ve played with him before, and he’s a very good golfer,” Ostrom said of Rodgers. “He made a lot of good shots, and had a couple bad breaks, that’s golf. I wish him the best at Stanford next year.” Rodgers will head out to Palo Alto, Calif., to play for the Cardinal, the alma mater of golf greats Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie. Ostrom, on the other hand, will enter the 2012 season as the defending state champion and try to become the first individual since South Bend Clay’s Jeremy Wilkinson (1994, 1995) to repeat. As for his college choice, Ostrom said he has a few options. It goes without saying, however, his performance in the state finals will turn some heads and open some more doors. “Tyler is definitely going to draw a lot of interest now,” said Barkey. “July 1 is the first day coaches can talk to players, and I imagine things will get interesting for Tyler.” Tying a state finals record for 18 holes, and shooting the third-lowest two-day score in tournament history will certainly help make things interesting.
75th Annual Boys Golf State Finals (Legends of Indiana GC, Par 72)
Team Scores – Brebeuf Jesuit 288-303-591, Columbus North 283-308-591, Norwell 295-300-595, Zionsville 297-302-599, Floyd Central 291-308-599, Avon 292-309-601, Warsaw 293-320-613, Evansville Harrison 295-319-614, Terre Haute South 294-328-622, Huntington North 297-338-635 Top-10 Individuals – Tyler Ostrom (Warsaw) 63-74-137, Adam Wood (Zionsville) 71-68-139, Patrick Rodgers (Avon) 70-71-141, McCormick Clouser (Norwell) 69-71-141, Nick Grubnich (Crown Point) 71-72-143, E.J. Tackett (H. North) 68-75-143, Michael Sharp (E. Noble) 68-75-143, Michael VanDeventer (Col. North) 67-76-153, Tanner Rabb (Zionsville) 72-72-144, Will Seger (Jasper) 70-75-145, Will Pahud (Brebeuf) 71-74-145, Jared Sturgeon (Floyd Central) 71-74-145 Warsaw – Tyler Ostrom 63-74-137, Eric Tandy 73-82-155, Jon Schram 80-80-160, Tim Ahlersmeyer 77-84-161, Bennett Hollar 88-87-155 Local Individual – 24th (tie) Quentyn Carpenter (Triton) 72-79-151
