Kennedy captures CRANDIC team title

IOWA CITY - Golf is supposed to be an individual sport, but you might not hear that from Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

The current crop of Cougars have woven individual performance with the team aspect, creating a winning formula.

Kennedy claimed top individual awards and team title at the CRANDIC boys' golf meet Tuesday at Pleasant Valley Golf Course. Kennedy's Davis Sutton and Tanner Stewart earned medalist and runner-up medalist honors, while the Cougars shot 292 to win their second straight CRANDIC crown by 11 strokes.

'It was a good showing,” Kennedy Coach Mark Wilden said. 'It was a good team win.”

The Cougars are close and share a strong bond. It isn't rare for one to inquire how teammates are playing and make shot decisions based on what is best for the team, instead of a single person's score. The impact could be measured by state runner-up finishes each of the last two seasons.

'The great thing about it is they are able to play well individually but they also care about what the other guys are doing on the golf course,” Wilden said. 'You know, like where the team is at and what they do affects the team.”

Sutton carded a 1-under par 71. A strong putter and good iron play helped Sutton to the low round. He limited bogeys with his putting.

'I was rolling it really well, especially for par putts,” Sutton said. 'I made a few birdies and a lot of pars. It turned into a steady round.”

Sutton made three birdies in all, including two for a 35 on the back nine. He stuck a his second shot a few feet from the cup on No. 18, following a tee shot in the rough just below a sand bunker. He made the short putt.

'I hit a lot of good shots from the fairway,” Sutton said. 'I gave myself a lot of birdie looks. It gave me an opportunity to get aggressive.”

Rains left the ground wet and soft with the wind picking up late in the day. It was fine for play, but not ideal. Sutton overcame the conditions to lead Kennedy.

'It was easy to hit tight shots, because of the softness of the greens,” Sutton said. 'You didn't have to worry about any rolling off.”

Stewart appeared to have grabbed medalist when his score of even-par 72 was posted late, edging Cedar Rapids Washington's Frank Lindwall and Linn-Mar's Trevor McCann, who tied for third with 73.

Sutton was one of the few that came in afterward, bumping his teammate to second. Stewart had hot streaks, carding an eagle on the par-5 525-yard 15th hole and a birdie on No. 16. He also had consecutive birdies on the front.

'It's really good to see him play well,” Sutton said. 'He's working really hard this year.”

Wilden said Stewart has persevered some tough times on the course and made a big contribution.

'That is awesome for Tanner,” Wilden said. 'He's starting to play a lot better. He needs more confidence. Today he had it. He's hitting the ball better and that's what counts.”

Cole Murdock shot 74 and Conner Koberg, last year's CRANDIC champion, had 75 for the Cougars. They might have been happy with the win, but they weren't satisfied with their margin of victory.

'I knew we could go lower as a team,” said Sutton, saying he could have shot better. 'I think we're happy with it, but I think we might need lower going into state.”

Washington was impressive as well, placing second with 303. The Warriors were 11 strokes better than third-place Linn-Mar. Lindwall led the way, but the Warriors had great balance.

Jake Patterson posted a 74, Jabe Gonder shot 77 and Will Jackson added 79 for Washington, which was the only team besides Kennedy to have four scorers under 80.

CRANDIC BOYS' GOLF MEET

At Iowa City

(Pleasant Valley Golf Course, par 72)

Teams - 1. C.R. Kennedy 292, 2. C.R. Washington 303, 3. Linn-Mar 314, 4. C.R. Xavier 321, 5. C.R. Prairie 329, 6. Iowa City West 345, 7. C.R. Jefferson 366, 8. Iowa City High 379.

Individuals - 1. Davis Sutton (CRK), 71, 2. Tanner Stewart 72, 3. (tie) Frank Lindwall (CRW) and Trevor McCann (LM) 73, 5. (tie) Cole Murdock (CRK) and Jake Patterson (CRW), 74.

C.R. Kennedy (292): Sutton 71, Stewart 72, Murdock 74, Conner Koberg 75

C.R. Washington (303): Lindwall 73, Patterson 74, Jabe Gonder 77, Will Jackson 79

Linn-Mar (314): McCann 73, Ben Greif 78, Jake Sevcik 81, Max Thrune 82

C.R. Xavier (321): Brady Robinson 79, Sam Martin 80, Jordan Even 81, Tyler Breitbach 81

C.R. Prairie (329): Bryce Prokop 79, Cal Clark 82, Cooper Reittinger 84, Mitch Lorenz 84

I.C. West (345): J.D. Goodfellow 79, Grant Higgins 85, Kyle Jenkins 86, Zaach McLean 95

City High (379): Garrett Highly 90, Tyler Courtney 93, Ben Morony 96, Calvin Greenberg 100

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