April 23, 2024

Cardinal girls claim win on home course

By Jocelyn Sheets

That close to a birdie — Newton High senior Lizzy Coyle reacts when her chip shot from the edge of the green on No. 12 at Westwood Golf Course stops on the lip of the cup. Coyle had a shot from under a tree to the edge of the green to set up the chip. Newton beat visiting Dallas Center-Grimes and Knoxville in Tuesday’s home meet. (Jocelyn Sheets)

Managing the course is a little easier when it’s your home course. Newton High’s girls made it pay off Tuesday in a triangular golf meet at Westwood Golf Course.

The Cardinals managed to play Holes No. 10, 11 and 12 better than their opponents from Dallas Center-Grimes and Knoxville. It helped boost them to a season’s-best 204 team score.

“Blessings were showering upon the Cardinals through amen corner tonight,” Newton head coach Scott Enyart said. “Those three holes are considered Westwood’s answer to Augusta National’s Amen Corner.”

Newton’s top three golfers came through the amen corner with three pars, five bogeys and two double bogeys. The stage was set for the Cardinals as no player from the other two teams played those three well.

Newton played two strokes better than DCG to claim a dual win in Little Hawkeye Conference play. The Fillies had a 206. Knoxville, which is not in the LHC, finished with a 240 and DCG’s junior varsity had 234.

Junior Taylor Dydell carded a career-best 41 for the nine-hole meet earning the meet medalist honors. She had four pars and five bogeys in her round. Junior Alayna Reynolds’ 47 gave her the runner-up medalist honors.

“Taylor hit the ball extremely consistently all night. When she had several bad shots, her recovery shots were solid to give her opportunities to shoot well,” Enyart said. “Alayna had a good round with two pars. Lizzy Coyle had a great start and it helped us as a team. She struggled late.”

Coyle, a senior, finished with a 54. Posting her personal-best score on her home course Tuesday was freshman Jordon Pritchard with a 62.

Junior Tory Church shot a 71 and senior Erin Van Sickle had a 76 as the other varsity golfers for Newton. Sophomore Ariel Lum played as a junior varsity golfer for Newton and shot a personal-best 63.

“We have the right recipe for success. We have some kids with potential and working hard to become more consistent,” Enyart said. “We’re making some progress.”

Newton plays the 18-hole Linda Bloom Invitational at 10 a.m. Thursday at Marshalltown’s American Legion Golf Course.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com