Andy Petersen May 1, 2009

Central takes command in league tourney

INDIANOLA—Turning in five scores of 75 or better, the Central College men’s golf team broke open a tight Iowa Conference men’s golf tourney Friday.

After taking a one-shot lead through 36 holes at the Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City last weekend, the Dutch fired 290 at the Indianola Country Club and is at 313-301-290—904 heading into Saturday’s final round. Defending champion Luther College is next at 309-306-309—924 with Wartburg College third at 328-304-302—934.

Two-time individual champion Andy Petersen (senior, Davenport, West HS) is tied for second in the medalist race at 69-79-74—222, still two shots back of Luther’s Paul Soener who is at 73-73-74—220. Petersen shares second with Mark Dolphin of Loras College who is at 75-74-73—222.

Central’s Andrew Townsend (junior, Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley HS) matched the day’s best round with a 1-under-par 71. He’s tied for fifth at 84-73-71—228 along with Matt Vegter (freshman, Morrison, Ill.) who is at 80-76-72—228. Justin Smool (junior, Bagley, Panorama HS) is eighth at 80-74-75—229 and Jason Harvey (sophomore, Goldfield, Clarion-Goldfield HS) is tied for 12th with 84-78-73—235.

Heavy rain during the week left the course a bit soggy, coach Charlie Estabrook said.

“The rough is extremely long and played wet and heavy,” he said. “It really put a premium on hitting fairways.”

And that’s what Central did.

“We made good decisions off the tee,” Estabrook said. “We hit fairways, we hit greens and we made a lot of putts today.”

Estabrook was quick to praise the Indianola Country Club staff and tourney host Simpson College for their efforts in making the wet course playable.

“They did a lot of work on the golf course in just a day to get it ready,” he said. “Simpson has been a great host. They’ve got everything taken care of.”

Several of Central’s reserve players gave the Dutch a boost as well, Estabrook said.

“We had 10 or 12 team members there today,” he said. “It’s great to have that kind of support from your teammates and I really think that made a difference.”

The top 10 individual finishers receive all-conference recognition. But the bigger prize is the NCAA Division III championships berth for the team champion. The NCAA tourney will be played May 12-15 in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

But coach Charlie Estabrook aren’t looking any further than Saturday, knowing that leads can vanish as quickly as they’re built.

“The players have been very business-like,” he said. “They were pretty quiet in the van before the round and they were still quiet on the way back. Even without me saying anything, they know they still have a day left and a lot of work to do. They’re very focused.”

Central last won a league title in 2007.