Prairie Boys Golf

Gonder leads Warriors to MVC title

Jabe Gonder played in 15 golf tournaments this summer to get ready for his senior campaign with the Washington Warriors.

It paid off handsomely Thursday.

Gonder fired a 1-over-par 71 to finish second in the individual standings and lead Washington to the team championship of the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet at Jones Park.

The Warriors posted a four-man score of 295 and won the tournament by 12 shots over Iowa City West.

Gonder had a stoke average of 81.25 for 18 holes last year, but he hit the links during the summer and came out firing in the first meet of the 2015 campaign.

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Mount Mercy golfers win Brickyard Classic

INDIANAPOLIS - The Mount Mercy men's golf team captured top honors at the Brickyard Classic tournament in Indianapolis Tuesday.

The Mustangs were sitting in seventh place after the first round of the tournament Monday, but they caught fire over the final 18 holes and climbed all the way to the top.

Mount Mercy finished at 598, nipping 15th-ranked Cardinal Stritch and Lindsey Wilson College by one stroke in the 17-team event. The Mustangs shot 308 Monday, then lowered their score by 18 strokes to 290 on Tuesday.

Matt Schlueter placed seventh for the 21st-ranked Mustangs at 4-over-par 148. Jamie Booth fired a 3-under 69 Tuesday to help power the rally.

Dylan MacQueen of Cardinal Stritch claimed medalist honors with a 3-under 141.

MOUNT MERCY: Matt Schlueter 73-75=148, Jack South 79-72=151, Jacob Selander 78-74=152, Jamie Booth 83-69=152, Ben Franklin 78-79=157.

Murdock's ace sparks Cougars to district title

The free drinks are on Cole Murdock.

Murdock fired a hole-in-one and claimed medalist honors Tuesday at Hunters Ridge as the Kennedy Cougars won their eighth straight district golf title.

Kennedy will compete for the state title this Friday and Saturday at the Tournament Club of Iowa in Polk City.

Murdock aced the 16th hole at Hunters Ridge with a pitching wedge. The ball hit the bottom of the flag and dropped into the cup.

Murdock knew he hit a good shot, but did not realize the ball was in the hole.

"I've never had a hole-in-one, so I guess I've never really seen what it looks like going in from the distance," he said. "When I heard it hit the flag I was kind of looking around to see where it went."

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Cougars eye state title in final shot

The old gang of Kennedy golfers are all seniors now, heading down their final fairway together as high school athletes.

There are six of them - Davis Sutton, Conner Koberg, Cole Murdock, Tanner Stewart, Ross Grekoff and Seth Nutt - and they've accomplished some impressive things during their prep careers with major championships, conference titles and a pair of second-place showings at the state tournament the last two years.

The Cougars added another Mississippi Valley Conference title to their resume Monday, winning the Valley Division crown by a whopping 52 shots in the final round of the 54-hole event at Ellis Golf Course.

Sutton won the overall Valley championship with a 54-hole score of 217 with rounds of 65, 77 and 75 on three different courses. Koberg took medalist honors Monday with an even-par 72 and placed second overall at 225. Murdock placed third at 227, giving Kennedy a 1-2-3 sweep of the top honors.

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