MARSHALLTOWN — Panorama sophomore Kolby Shackelford turned in a second outstanding round of golf at the American Legion course Friday, firing a three-over par 73 to finish with a two-day total of five-over 145, thereby earning second place in the boys Class 2A State Golf Tournament.[wpedon id=”82220″ align=”center”]
Dike-New Hartford senior Bo Weissenfluh followed a day one 72 with a second card of 72 to shoot 144 and nip Shackelford by a stroke. Kuemper Catholic seniors Nate Mertz (75-72–147) and Jared Tigges (71-76–147) tied for third place. Tigges led by a stroke after Thursday’s play, but went six-over par Friday to fall out of title contention.
Sheldon senior Tyler Merley, playing in the final individual qualifier threesome with Shackelford, shot 72-76–148 to finish fifth, with West Branch junior Ted Bridges sixth at 76-73–149. The medalist field of eight concluded with Roland-Story’s Will Larson (77-73–150) and Clarion-Goldfield-Dows’ Zach Martin (74-76–150) tying for seventh. Both are seniors.
“Kolby was his usual excellent self,” Panorama head coach David Van Ahn said. “He was driving 30 yards or more past everyone else and was hitting his fairways. He left four or five putts for birdie or par just short, and if there was one area that hurt him that might have been it, but he sure played some outstanding golf in some warm weather.”
Individual qualifiers teed off on the 10th hole and played the back nine first. Shackelford birdied No. 12, then had a bogey on the 16th hole, but responded with a birdie on the 17th to finish his opening nine holes at one-under 34.
A bogey on the first hole put him at even par, after which ill fortune struck.
His drive on the tough par-5 second hole landed in a rut from which no relief was allowed. The bad break turned into a double-bogey, but Van Ahn said his star golfer recovered well.
“I told him after that (double-bogey) ‘OK, now we pull up our pants and our boots and get to work’ and he did,” the coach said. “His mental toughness is as good as I have seen.”
Shackelford birdied the sixth hole, but then his threesome had to wait 20 minutes on the eighth tee, a halt that broke momentum and rhythm and which may have contributed to consecutive bogeys to close his round.
Two pars would have claimed the state title, but the players had no idea while on the course of where they stood in relation to those in other groups, and with Weissenfluh playing as a member of team qualifier D-NH, he was not even on the same portion of the course.
Merley and third member of the trio, senior Drew Olson of Osage (77-75–152), each finished par-bogey.
Shackelford’s accomplishment is even more impressive when his age is taken into consideration (he was 13th overall as a freshman last season). West Branch junior Bridges (sixth overall) was the only other non-senior medalist, and the next sophomore behind Shackelford was Kuemper Catholic’s Cole Collison, 15th at 74-79–153, while Kuemper’s Ethan Pieteg (tied for 30th at 82-79–161) was the top freshman.
If players competing as part of a team were eliminated, Shackelford would have won the title by three strokes over Merley, with sophomore Mark Schomer of Iowa City Regina (44th at 84-83–167) the next closest underclassman.
The top 20 finishers included 15 seniors, three juniors and two sophomores, and Van Ahn said he would not be surprised if Shackelford’s physical skills and how he conducts himself on the course soon begin to draw the attention of top level college coaches.
Kuemper fired consecutive composite rounds of 302 to win the team title at 604, with PCM (313-306–619) second and Des Moines Christian (308-315–623) third. D-NH (629) was fourth, with Estherville-Lincoln Central (635), Central Lee (640), Roland-Story (642), West Branch (643) and C-G-D (646) completing the field.
Panorama did not lose a single player to graduation from a team that finished third in their sectional behind PCM and DMC. The Panthers also faced senior-laden Kuemper during the season.
“Look out at who we played, that level of competition, and with our young team,” Van Ahn said. “I like what we have ahead of us and look forward to next season.”
