Suttons Bay won a 18-team tournament and continued "the streak," while Glen Lake is streaking ahead with some of its best play of the season in high school golf.

The Norsemen, who haven’t lost a league match since 1998, kept its streak alive with another Northwest Conference Jamboree win on Wednesday, April 30, and they added a victory on Friday at the Lake City Invitational. Suttons Bay also finished fourth Saturday in the 17-team Traverse City West Invitational.

Glen Lake, meanwhile, posted its second runner-up finish in a Jamboree this year and established its best 18-hole team score of 2008 at the Lake City tournament.

At Missaukee Golf Club near Lake City, Charlie Olson fired a one-over 73 to lead Suttons Bay to the invitational win. Glen Lake finished seventh with a 336, and was second in the “Black” division.

Olson’s 73 was the second-lowest score of the day, and he was helped by teammates Sam Foster (third with a 74), Conor Loberg (fifth with a 77), and Sam Evans (82). Freshman Matt O’Brien paced the Lakers with a 78, and was followed by Matt Abramson (82), and Steve King and Austin Novak (88 each).

“Our team score was 20 shots better than our best 18-hole score of the year, so I was really pleased,” Glen Lake coach Fred O’Brien said.
Suttons Bay coach Todd Hursey called the invitational victory the biggest win of the year for the team.

“It was big not only because we played against a large field with a lot of Division 3 teams, but also because of our team score of 306, which I was very happy with,” said Hursey of the Division 4 Norsemen.

In the Jamboree played at the newly renamed Sugar Loaf The Old Course, the Norsemen carded a 25-shot victory behind the strong play of Loberg. The freshman was medalist with a 39, Max Evans and Chase Palmer each shot 41, and Craig Jasinski had a 42 to give Suttons Bay a score of 163. Glen Lake shot a 188 and edged Kingsley by one stroke for second-place behind the play of Nate Peplinski (45), King and Novak (46 each), and O’Brien (46).

“That was the first time this year that we had four players shoot in the 40s, so we’re making progress,” coach O’Brien said.

Suttons Bay also played Saturday in the Traverse City West Invitational at The Crown. Traverse City St. Francis and Traverse City Central each shot a 310 to tie for first, with the Gladiators earning the title on a tiebreaker. Traverse City West (323) and Suttons Bay (326) were next in the 17-team field.

“It was played in strong winds and the course was playing difficult, but that wasn’t a bad score for us considering those three Traverse City teams are awful tough,” Hursey said.

Both Glen Lake and Suttons Bay were scheduled to play yesterday, May 8, in a Northwest Jamboree hosted by Benzie Central at Pinecroft Gold Club. The two teams will also play Friday at the T-C Central Invitational at Traverse City Country Club, and the St. Francis Invitational Saturday at the Grand Traverse Resort. Suttons Bay is also playing next Tuesday at the Cadillac Invitational.