Plains comes in third place, Thompson Falls girls place second
Matt Unrau
Valley Press
The Thompson Falls boys’ golf team was able to take advantage of their home course on Saturday to capture first place of the Thompson Falls invitational golf tournament. The boys’ team shot a combined score of 352 narrowly edging Loyal Sacred Heart from Missoula with a score of 358.
The Plains boys’ team was able to come away with third place, shooting a combined score of 366, after struggling through the front nine. Every player on the team shot at least six strokes better on the back nine and the number one ranked player, Daniel Tuhocek, shot nine strokes better.
Coach Teresa Kendall attributes this to her players having to adjust to the unique greens on Thompson Falls golf course. “They (the greens at Thompson Falls) have always wrecked havoc with the Plains kids because they’re so different from their own (at the Plains golf course).
Tuhocek, finishing with a score of 89 (49-40) awarding him eighth place, agrees with her coach. “The greens are pretty hard. They’re so fast, so you have to hit the ball really high.”
Jesse Mosher was the high man for Thompson Falls, shooting 84 (43-41) and tying for second place. Mosher is more familiar with the greens. “You definitely know where you want to put the ball. You know that you have to lay up for the greens, because they’re fast.”
However, other Thompson Falls golfers are adament that there is little or no advantage to having the Thompson golf course as their home course.
“Everyday my score varies,” explains Emily Brown, the number two ranked golfer on Thompson Falls’ team. “There are so many factors.
Jesse’s brother Cody finished tied for seventh place with Plains’ Bryce Benson, both shooting 88. Cody shot 44 on the front and back nine, while Bryce shot a 47 on the front nine, but finished strong on the back nine with a 41. Dan Krautter from Deer Lodge took first place with a score of 82 (45-37).
On the girls side Thompson Falls finished in second place (458) well back of first place Loyola Sacred Heart (394). Kelsie Crippen from Loyola capped off a sweep of the medals for her school by winning with a score of 90 (34-37).
Emily LaFriniere from Thompson Falls placed sixth finishing the day with a 108 (53-55).
The next tournament for both teams will be in Seeley Lake on Thursday. They may be battling adverse weather conditions as the National Weather Service has predicted that there is a 40 percent chance of snow on Thursday.
Both teams will also be competing at Deer Lodge on Saturday. The Deer Lodge tournament also has been known to be canceled in the past because of weather.