Warrior golfers tee off season with victory at Hillsboro tourney
Sports reporter
Travis Hett and the Marion High School golfers are off to a good start.
Hett won a rain-shortened Hillsboro Invitational Friday with a nine-hole round of 39. He tied with Hillsboro's Justin Kent, but won a scorecard tie-breaker.
Head coach Rex Ostmeyer said he was pleased with Hett's performance, but the junior would be the first to tell you he can do better.
"That is what I love about Travis," Ostmeyer said. "He is very motivated to shoot great scores every time out."
Hett wasn't the only Warrior golfer swinging the club well at the tournament.
Jake Bredemeier's 43, Keith Jones' 44, and Luke Gordon's 47, teamed with Hett's round to give a first-place finish in the four-man team round.
Coupled with Chase Carlson's 46 and Paul Hodson's 52, the Warriors also won the six-man team event.
While Hett was the only medalist for Marion, Bredemeier lost a medal on a tie-break with six other golfers, finishing 13th.
"He continued his consistent play," Ostmeyer said. "He can improve, and he wants to get better."
Gordon, playing for the second time in his high school career, broke 50 with a 47.
"He was very upset we didn't play the back nine," Ostmeyer said. "He was off to a decent start and really wanted to make amends for the poor front that he played."
Ostmeyer was glad to see Hodson did better than planned in his first event.
"I was very happy with Paul," he said. "He hadn't broken 60 in any of the qualifying rounds, and to shoot a 52 in the wind and rain was nice to see."
Overall, the Warriors dominated the tournament, and Ostmeyer is excited to see what they can do in the future.
"The thing I like about this group is their competitiveness with each other," he said. "They want to beat each other, and that is the secret to a good golf team."
Herington
At Herington April 4, Hett again finished tied for first, but this time he settled for third place on the tie-breaker.
The four-man team of Hett, Gordon, Bredemeier, and Jones won the tournament with an 18-hole score of 326.
"I will be happy with this group if we can shoot a 326 each time out," Ostmeyer said.
Gordon's 81 gave him a 10th place medal, and Bredemeier just missed out with an 83. Jones finished the round with an 86.
"Jake only broke 90 once last year, so obviously he has worked hard on his game over the year and improved tremendously."
MHS will tee off Monday at the Council Grove invitational.
