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SPARTA — In golf there is no scoreboard on the first hole or the 18th — or any of the 16 holes in between.
The players, the coaches and the fans are all in the same information-less black hole when it comes to knowing which team is blistering the course, which team is having an off day, or which individual is racking up multiple birdies.
That is the very reason why nearly everyone was on edge as the scores filtered in Monday afternoon at the River Run Golf Course in Sparta, which was the site of a WIAA Division 1 sectional tournament.
Everyone but Holmen, that is.
Holmen earned its first state berth in coach Paul Laxton’s four-year tenure when it won the sectional meet with a sizzling 302. Now, the Vikings will attempt to improve on the school’s best state finish of second in 1988 (Class B).
James DeBoer, with a 1-over-par 73, led the way for the red-hot Vikings, while Sam Kube (75), Billy Pearse (76) and Brandon Temte (78) were right behind.
Onalaska, Holmen’s chief rival all season and co-owner of the MVC title along with the Vikings, missed earning a state berth by a single stroke. Middleton earned the second — and final — team spot with a 311 total, while Onalaska was at 312.
“We were rooting for them. We’re rivals, but we’re all friends,” said Holmen’s DeBoer of Onalaska. “Having Holmen and Onalaska go to state would have been great.”
The Vikings, who were coming off a Division 1 Baraboo regional title at Trappers Turn in Wisconsin Dells, were strong, balanced, and confident. As important as any of the above, Laxton said, was finishing strong.
“You want to have the kids play well the entire day, but we talked more about finishing strong, about playing the last three holes well,” Laxton said.
That’s exactly why Laxton was at Billy Pearse’s side the last four holes. Pearse, who was 1-over-par entering the 15th hole, triple bogeyed 15 and found himself in a bit of trouble.
His confidence wasn’t shaken, Laxton said, but he needed a strong finish from his senior. That’s exactly what he got as Pearse birdied 16, birdied 17, and parred 18 to secure Holmen’s trip to state.
“I told him to focus, get it to the green and make par,” Laxton said. “I told him I was here to help him out. I knew what James had done, what Sam and Brandon had done.”
Holmen’s first four golfers shot so well they didn’t even need freshman Bennett Laxton’s very respectable 82. Kube’s 75 wasn’t totally unexpected, but having the senior shoot that score at the biggest meet of the season was a huge boost.
“I wanted to shoot the lowest score I could to help the team,” said Kube, who had six birdies on the day. “With what James did, and with the scores Billy and Brandon had, we’re starting to put it all together. After the basketball season we had, this feels pretty good to end the year like this.”
While Holmen was riding high, the disappointment could be seen on the faces of the Onalaska players. Earning a spot in the individual portion of the tournament was bittersweet for the Hilltoppers’ Nick Bertran and Brad Preeshl, who each shot 74s.
“I’m happy to go (to state), but it doesn’t mean nearly as much as it would with the team,” Preeshl said. “I was just hoping we all would finish well.”
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