The Le Mars boys golf team hosted their final home meet of the season with all of the MRAC schools on Tuesday. The Bulldogs placed third in tight four-way race for the win.
The Bulldogs shot a 305 improving on their poor performance against some tough teams in Fort Dodge over a week ago. Head coach Nick Knapp says he was happy with how everybody responded and the work they put in to get better.
The competition was tough again with the Bulldogs falling in a group of four teams that were separated by five strokes at Willow Creek. Tate Murphy led the Bulldogs with a 75. He says competing against good golfers brings out the best in him.
With Murphy being one of the seniors on the team, he can be used as an example of a type of golfer the Bulldogs can try to build around. One aspect that is a plus is his ability to drown out all the noise in a meet and just play his game.
Coach Knapp says that is a great quality that he would like to see other guys adopt on the team.
The meet was windy with gusts that topped out over 20 miles per hour. That affected one Bulldog in senior Jacob Plueger who was the fourth-best golfer for Le Mars with a 78. Plueger says that all led to eventually having to two-putt a few holes.
One extra bright spot for Le Mars was Wyatt Leners who was not one of the returning seniors or varsity contributors on the roster. He still had an impact on the home course with a 77 as the third-best scoring golfer for the Bulldogs. Coach Knapp says this kind of performance can give him confidence to be a reliable scorer in the future.
As the Bulldogs move on, there are not many breaks in their schedule anymore meaning it will be go-time from here on out. Plueger says keeping the guys forward looking will be very helpful.
Le Mars’ schedule features three meets in four days next week leaving no time for recovery. Murphy says getting the mind on the right page should help better deal with physical ailments from the many rounds.
Le Mars is next in action at the Sioux City Country Club on Monday, September 16.
