Newton, PCM girls play Cardinal Invite

Managing the course — whichever golf course being played on — is part of the game of golf. Newton High’s Cardinal girls were playing at home at Westwood Golf Course Friday for the 2016 Cardinal Invitational, a nine-hole event.

“The course is in nice condition. The greens had more speed on them today than the girls were used to and they had to make adjustments,” Newton head coach Scott Enyart said. “We played the back nine, which is challenging to all golfers, but it is also makes for a fun tournament for the girls.”

Ankney Centennial, ranked No. 4 in Class 5A, won the tournament going away with a four-player score of 173. Chariton finished second with a 189.

Class 5A eighth-ranked Johnston and Class 4A eighth-ranked Newton each came in with a 199 team score. Johnston won a fifth-player score tiebreaker to finish third and the Cardinals were fifth.

Marshalltown took fifth by one stroke over Prairie City-Monroe, 207-208. PCM’s Mustangs are ranked No. 12 in Class 3A. Bondurant-Farrar and North Polk had golfers competing, but not full teams.

“For the most part our girls hit the ball pretty well. We had a few too many penalty shots, as we hit into some of the water hazards on the back nine, and a lot of putts today,” Enyart said.

Ankeny Centennial’s sophomore Tenley Moretti and senior Karli Kerrigan each carded a 41. Moretti won the scorecard tiebreaker for the meet medalist honors. Kerrigan is ranked No. 6 and Moretti sits at No. 10 in Class 5A individual rankings.

Chariton’s Teffnay Dale was third with a 42 and Ankeny Centennial’s Cassie Frazier took fourth with a 44. PCM’s Madeline Mitchell, a sophomore, shot a 45 to take fifth place.

Newton senior Jessica Reynolds, who is ranked 22nd in Class 4A, and Chariton’s Haley Reece tied with final scores of 46. Reynolds won the scorecard playoff for sixth and was selected for the 2016 tournament’s sportsmanship award.

Reynolds’ round included a birdie on No. 11 and back-to-back pars at No. 14 and 15. Senior Cydney Hillyard fired a 48 with a birdie on No. 17. Enyart said Hillyard was four over after playing her first four holes.

Emily Fitzgerald, a senior, finished with a 52 for Newton and had a par on No. 15. Senior Jessie Smith had the final team-scoring total of 53. Junior Lizzy Coyle shot a 57 and sophomore Taylor Dydell finished at 63.

PCM junior Breanna Maher, who is ranked No. 12 in 3A, shot a 51 to finish behind Mitchell. Sophomore Ellie Steenhoek came in at 55 and junior Courtney Bridges carded a 57.

Other PCM scores on the day were a 62 by senior Abby Van Haaften and a 65 by sophomore Sabrina Reed.

Newton had three junior varsity players competing in the event. Sophomore Alyana Reynolds carded a 54, senior Amber Sorenson had a season’s-best 57 and Erin Van Sickle shot a 73.

“We’re going to zero in on making our first putts better. Our chipping was good today,” Enyart said.

“We’re fortunate to have a course like Westwood to play as our home course. Brad Sponseller and his staff do a great job here accommodating both the girls and boys teams this spring. Being able to use this facility for a large invitational like this is appreciated by our teams.”

PCM’s girls played at Knoxville Saturday and play at the Chariton Invitational Thursday.

Newton takes on Norwalk and host Dallas Center-Grimes in a Little Hawkeye Conference triangular Monday at Beaver Creek Golf Course in Grimes. Teams tee off at 4:15 p.m.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
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or jsheets@newtondailynews.com