March 28, 2024

Cardinal golfers fall to Norwalk

The Newton girls golf team had their most solid performance of the year on Thursday, according to their coach Scott Enyart. However, the team was not able to overcome Norwalk, which shot a school record 182. That was five strokes better than Newton’s 185.

The low score for Newton belonged to Madigan Hillyard, who shot a 46. Hillyard’s round highlights included a birdie on the par-3 ninth hole. Hillyard stuck her shot, which was over the water, on the ninth to within 15 feet, and she drained her birdie putt. She also had a par on hole three, hitting her second shot out of the rough to within six feet. She was able to two-putt to secure par.

Bailey Kellogg, Madison Wellik and Carrie Cunningham each shot 47s to fill out the remainder of the scorecards for the Cardinals. Kellogg had a similar shot to Hillyard’s on hole three, and she was able to duplicate the effort, making par as well. Wellik got into a bit of trouble on holes three and nine, but she was able to bogey or par the rest of her holes to keep her score under 50. On hole seven, a par-4 with the wind at her back, Wellik drove the green and three-putt for par. Cunningham had a very solid round as well.

“Bailey hit the ball well. She putted really well. She’s been working on her chipping and just sharpening up her short game," Enyart said. "Carrie really had a breakthrough day. Her tee shots and iron game were really on. He short game has improved significantly as well. This was the round we’ve been looking for out of her all year. It was really a confidence building day, especially after working hard this whole week.”

Enyart was pleased to have each girl score under 50 at one point or another this season, and it gives him confidence that the scores can get even lower going forward.

“We learned that anyone can score on any given day," Enyart said. "We navigated our way around the course well, and stayed out of trouble for the most part. Everyone has been under 50, and now our goal is to get everyone under 45. We’re working on short game, but this was a good stepping stone.”

Newton will compete next in a conference meet on Monday.