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Getting out of the regional and on to the state meet would be nice for the Warsaw Tigers girls golf squad, but a good showing is just as important.
With a lot of good competition among the teams competing Saturday at the Huntington Regional at Norwood Golf Course, Warsaw knows that being one of the top three teams will be a tough task. Especially since Warsaw's 414 runner-up score at Rozella Ford didn't exactly set the golf world on fire, and was in fact the worst second-place score among all the sectionals in the state.
Add that to the fact that several golf-rich Fort Wayne-area schools will be present at the regional.
"We want to make a good showing," Warsaw coach Bob Turner said. "If we play well and still place beyond the numbers we need, we will still be satisfied."
Warsaw finished just three strokes behind East Noble at the sectional, a fact that is not lost on Turner.
"I'd liked to see us beat East Noble, they seem to be our nemesis," Turner said. "Realistically, it is a very powerful regional. There are probably four or five top 20 teams. There are a couple that could go on and win the state."
Turner said he likes Warsaw's position, especially playing with Huntington and Fort Wayne Snider (10:21 a.m. tee time.)
"We are probably better off playing with the teams that we are playing with than East Noble is," Turner said. "They are playing with Dwenger and Marion, which have some superstars. We are in a good position for us to concentrate on our game and not be watching someone else."
But Turner still doesn't want his players to get caught watching the competition around them.
"They have played in some invitationals with some pretty good teams," Turner said. "I don't think that will rattle them. It will be if they can keep their mind focused on their own game and not be watching the girls they are playing."
The Tigers have played this Norwood course twice this season, in an invitational and during a dual match with Huntington North. Turner said the big thing for the Tigers will be dealing with Norwood's large, elevated greens that often have trouble waiting behind them for anybody that can't get their ball to stick on the green.
"You are going to have to putt well and not go over if you expect to play well," Turner said. "We have improved since we played there in August. It will be interesting to see if we can handle the bigger greens with our improved chipping."
