Whitefish boys golf team wins 11th state championship by 30 strokes

The Whitefish High School boys golf team came home from Polson with another state championship trophy for 2008. The boys have won four of the last five team championships, and this makes a total of 11 banners on the wall. The boys are still fairly young, with only senior Daniel Markus on the state team in 2008.

This year's team romped over their closest competitor Billings Central by 30 strokes, while placing all five boys in the top-15 with All State designations. This group of players started strong on day one and added to their lead the second day. On the first day, Whitefish carded a team score of 312, followed by 311 on day two to widen the margin of victory.

Freshman Reed Platke finished second over all in the state tournament with two rounds of 76 over the Polson Bay Golf Course.

"Reed showed tremendous poise for both days and held the lead after the first day," Whitefish coach Terry Nelson said.

A late round by Preston Matchett, Billings Central's number-one player, with a 31 on the back nine edged Reed out of the medalist position. Jeremy Jenson, of Havre, finished in third place for the two-day tournament.

Bulldog junior Joel Mallams and senior Daniel Markus tied for fourth, with both shooting rounds of 78-79 for the two days. Both players rallied strong both days on their back nines to post great rounds.

Joel Mallams shot 35 the first day and 37 the second on the back nine at Polson Bay, while Markus shot 38-39 both days to finish his rounds.

"Daniel, one of Montana's best hockey players used that competitive skill to help him focus on the golf course," Nelson said. "Joel has been a consistent player all year long, and all his work on the game was very evident in this and our other tournaments."

Ryan Zalucky, another junior, shot a great round of 77 on the second day of the tournament to vault him into the sixth spot over-all.

"Ryan is one of the best ball strikers I've ever coached," Nelson said. "On Saturday, I saw him make really exceptional and consistent shots without trying to over power the course."

Zalucky hit his last eight greens in regulation to post a 37 on the back nine and move up the ladder to sixth place.

"Ryan had what may have been the shot of the tournament with a chip-in on the par-3 ninth hole from a nearly impossible lie to a fast green and a down hill hole location," Nelson said.

Junior Zach Maassen had a great tournament with a strong round of 80 on the first day to help the Bulldogs to an early lead of 20 strokes. Maassen finished 11th overall, and he, too, is an All State player.

"Zach made perhaps the most improvement on the team this year as he developed a better understanding of how to score," Nelson said. "I look for Zach to consistently be in the mid-to-low 70s in his senior year."

Joe Blakemore may have been the first alternate for the Whitefish team, but he has the game to be the number-one on most of the teams around the state.

"Joe was a great team player and extremely supportive of his teammates at the state tournament," Nelson said. "I look for him to have a very big roll in next year's run for a second consecutive title bid."

Because golf rules at the high school level in Montana don't allow spectators on the course, it's difficult to watch the tournament play, but Whitefish parents were there at the 18th green waiting for the teams to finish.

"It was really special to have so many of the parents at the state tournament to support both teams in Polson," Nelson said. "I would love to get the restriction on galleries removed from Montana high school golf."

Next year's Bulldog golf team should be just as strong or stronger, Nelson said, with a host of younger players waiting their chance to challenge for the top-five spots on the team.

"I know we have at least 10 players who will eventually make the varsity squad at Whitefish High," Nelson said. "Learning to score well in golf requires lots of time on the course and working on the short game."