2012 In Review

That Kimball’s golfers would advance to Kearney was never in serious doubt. Entering the 2012 golf schedule the Longhorns had appeared in nine consecutive state tournaments.

To win their third straight district crown required a little fortitude, however.

“I didn’t expect to win after the last few weeks,” admitted coach Aaron Delhay, referencing some uncharacteristically inconsistent play from his top golfers in recent invites.

Kimball fended off a charge by runner-up Valentine at the West Wind Golf Club in Ogallala, holding onto the C-5 crown by three strokes thanks to superior rounds by Jeff Greenwood (76), Henry Heeg (78) and Todd O’Hare (80).

“The district title was up for grabs,” Delhay said. “They stepped up.”

Greenwood fired a 38-38, coming out of the clubhouse strong. He slipped slightly on the difficult seventh hole, but rediscovered his groove immediately. Heeg also shot even rounds, tallying a 39-39, with only two moments of trouble--a six on number two and another six on number five.

O’Hare, who paced the squad during a previous trip to Ogallala, faltered only once, recording a seven on number 16. Meanwhile Landon Smith struggle on several holes, but still managed an 88. Caleb Reuter (97) rounded out the scoring.

Three Kimball golfers finished in the individual top ten, with Greenwood taking the runner up slot behind Renen Sahr of Gordon-Rushville.

The Kimball season teed off as expected, too--a 2-0 start in tournament play. Yet Delhay immediately recognized room for improvement.

“The front nine is killing us,” he said.

In Mitchell, the Longhorns paced a 15 team field, shooting 331--16 strokes ahead of second place Alliance. But Greenwood (79, second overall) struggled over the first half of the course before recovering. The week before, in Bayard, Heeg had to rebound from a 49 on the front nine.

“If we shoot low right off the bat, we’ll be right where I want us to be going into state,” Delhay observed.

Kimball’s 331 in the season’s second event marked a 27 stroke improvement over the opening tournament. Smith ranked second on the team and ninth overall, shooting an 83.

The Bayard invitational to start the 2012 boys season was postponed by weather. The delay of two days caused Greenwood to miss the event, due to a previously scheduled round of play in Arizona.

O’Hare stepped up in his absence, recording a team-leading 82, despite needed special permission from the Nebraska School Activities Association to ride a cart as he continues to recover from knee surgery.

Perhaps the ups and downs snared the Longhorns on a windy two days at state.

O’Hare paused on the cart path behind Kearney Country Club’s 18th green. Although two Kimball golfers—Heeg and Smith—were still on the course, the senior already knew the outcome.

“I wanted to end with a bang,” he said. “We didn’t quite do it.”

The Longhorns voiced a clear goal heading into the 2012 season, fully expecting a top three finish in the state tournament. But on the unusually dry fairways at Kearney, they wound up locked in a tie for seventh with Elmwood Murdock, their 680 two day score putting them six strokes behind Hartington Cedar Catholic. Sutton won the Class C title by shooting 637.

On the individual leader board, Greenwood and Heeg fell into the 36th position along with five other golfers. O’Hare slotted in at 43rd and Smith in a tie for 46th—all behind personal expectations.

“It was kind of a let down,” O’Hare reported. “But we can’t go back now.”

Sustained winds caused trouble throughout the round on Tuesday. Greenwood double bogeyed a par four and par five and bogeyed two more long fairways. Smith suffered through a rough day, hitting par on only seven holes. And O’Hare’s usually deft baby draw approaches sailed off course. Only Heeg, who birdied 11 and fired six consecutive pars over a near flawless back nine, had an answer for the steady gusts—and even he couldn’t manage a compliment.

“Yeah,” he nodded with a grimace, “it was that bad.”