By Neil Geoghegan
ngeoghegan@21st-centurymedia.com
NEW GARDEN – Enhancing its resume with a routine road win, the youngish Downingtown West boys’ golf squad is gathering experience along the way for what head coach Nick Wolfe hopes is even better results come tournament time.
The Whippets topped Kennett 192-211 on Tuesday at Hartefeld National, which is always a stern test. And there was an interesting subplot: two of the better young prospects in the district – sophomore Ian Larsen and freshman Ian Rotto – played in the same group, and finished with matching even-par 36s to lead their respective teams.
“It was cool to see someone actually younger than me. (Rotto) had four birdies and played very well,” said West’s Larsen.
“I’m happy to have (Rotto) for the next several years and I just hope we can build around him,” added Blue Demons’ head coach Kevin Murphy. “If we do we will have a team that can go head to head with the powerhouses like Downingtown West, Unionville and (West Chester) Rustin.”
The Whippets improve to 5-0 overall (4-0 in the Ches-Mont National). Kennett falls to 3-2 overall (3-0 in the C-M American).
“This is much more difficult than our home course (Downingtown Country Club),” West head coach Nick Wolfe said about Hartefeld.
“Because of our successes, we have a target on our back. Other teams are talking about us and they think we are a team to beat, whether we are or not. So we are going to get everybody’s best effort every time.”
The two Ians also showed Tuesday that one bad hole doesn’t have to necessarily ruin a round. Larsen four-putted the opening hole, but bounced back immediately to birdie the par-5 second and fourth holes. And then on the 400-plus yard seventh, Larsen hit an 8-iron out of a fairway bunker and then drained a 10-footer for another birdie.
“I knew I was hitting the ball solid, so I knew (after hole No. 1) that I would have more chances. I did make a few putts to kind of offset it,” Larsen said.
“Ian plays the most tournament rounds of anybody on our team,” Wolfe added. “Something like that doesn’t affect him as much because he’s been through stuff like that before.”
Rotto’s troubling hole was the 156-yard, par-3 fifth, where he carded a quadruple bogey seven. The four birdies made up for it, however.
“I was pleased with Ian’s rebound from a very difficult hole,” Murphy said. “He showed a lot of growth out there. He put it behind him, moved on and played very well.
“I hope that is a lesson for the others. Too often with young men, they spiral and let one bad hole become several bad holes.”
In all, all five of West’s top scorers managed to break 40, including sophomore Luke Fediukov and juniors Justin Marcus, Dominic Mendez and Aiden Muir. All four shot 4-over 39.
“Last season we knew we had four scores, but we didn’t know if we could count on a fifth,” Wolfe pointed out. “It’s really evolved and a fifth score can come from anybody right now. We have a lot of quality players that can shoot in the high 30s.”
A case in point is Muir. After competing in the season opener, he then missed the next four meets while battling strep throat. But on Monday he shot a 38 in a team qualifier, and then surprised even himself on Tuesday.
“I was kind of expecting a pretty bad score today, but I ended up playing better than I thought I would,” he said.
The highlight of Muir’s round was an eagle on the par-4 seventh. Following an excellent drive, he had 105 yards to the pin.
“I was hoping to get out of there with a birdie,” Muir explained. “The shot landed right next to the cup, bounced up, spun back and went in.”
Six shots behind Rotto, sophomore Matthew Pepe fired a 42. Brothers Cole and Kyle Doherty carded identical 44s and senior Juan Garzoron added a 45 for the Demons.
“(Downingtown West) is a talented squad,” Murphy said. “And this was a rough day for us.
“We had a very good score in our last match here (194 versus Sun Valley). If we had played like that, when we were loose and care-free, it could have come down to the final group. I think what happened was that they knew a good team was rolling in here.”
Downingtown West 192, Kennett 211
Par 36 at Hartefeld National
West: Larsen 36, Marcus 39, Fediukov 39, Mendez 39, Muir 39.
Kennett: Rotto 36, Pepe 42, C. Doherty 44, K. Doherty 44, Garzaron 45.
