Loggers deal with home course pressure

Libby senior Ryggs Johnston set the bar for the Cabinet View Invitational Friday with a 70, while senior Sammee Bradeen lead the Lady Loggers with a 96 and senior Andrew Freese fronted the rest of the Logger pack with an 89.

Thursday and Friday were busy days for Libby High School golf, as the team first traveled to Polson, then returned to their home course on Friday.

Despite Johnston taking first place and Bradeen placing fifth, the day was not up to the expectations the teams had set for themselves, Head Coach Dann Rohrer said. While the Cabinet View course is the most familiar to the players, that can also add pressure to how they play.

Johnston did not play his best, Rohrer said. But he noted that being able to still take the win by five strokes even when underperforming stands as a mark of a champion.

And, while the teams did not have their best day on the course, Bradeen’s 96 was still doing well for where she has been, he said.

Junior Alex Svendsbye — a new player this year — is still trending downwards with his 110 on Friday, and Freese’s 89 shows the direction more of the team needs to move, Rohrer said. If the boys want to do well this season, more of them will need to be shooting in the 80s.

With the divisional tournament coming up at Cabinet View in less than two weeks on Saturday, Sept. 22, Rohrer said the team is going to work on performing better at their home course in the coming practices.

One thing is not putting pressure on themselves that they don’t need to, he said. “Sometimes you can try too much and put pressure on yourself that isn’t there.”

“I think certain things lend themselves to teaching moments, and this is a good teaching moment,” Rohrer said.

It’s a lesson the players can take with them beyond the course, he said. He doesn’t want playing golf to be the only thing they learn in their time on the team.

Sometimes the expectation just has to be to have a good time and feel the joy and love of the game, he said. The key is recognizing one’s limitations, while still pushing those limits.

Thursday, Sept. 6

Polson Invitational

At Polson Polson Bay Golf Course

Boys

1. Stevensville 317, 2. Polson 321, 3. Hamilton 324, 4. Whitefish 347, 5. Frenchtown 354, 6. Corvallis 365, 7. Columbia Falls 368, 8. Glacier 395, 9. Libby 437, 10. Ronan 439, 11. Flathead 440, 12. Browning 449

Top five

1. Matt Hobbs (Polson) 71, 2. Trey Kelley (Polson) 75, 3. Jayce Painter (Stevensville) 75, 4. Zach Taylor (Hamilton) 78, 5. Jacob Walters (Stevensville) 79

Also for Libby: Andrew Freese 97, Trey Thompson 105, Landon Haddock 113, Alex Svendsbye 122, Keilen Rausch 142

Girls

1. Whitefish 392, 2. Corvallis 405, 3. Polson 410, 4. Browning 417, 5. Hamilton 431, 6. Frenchtown 434, 7. Libby 437

Top five

1. Macee Greenwood (Corvallis) 88, 2. Alana Griffin (Glacier) 89, 3. Ella Shaw (Whitefish) 91, 4. Harper Armitage (Frenchtown) 92, 4. Cali Cannon (Polson) 92

Also for Libby: Allie Snyder 101, Sammee Bradeed 104, Emily Carver 114, Kayley Svendsbye 118, Sydney Croucher 135

Friday, Sept. 7

Libby Cabinet View Invitational

At Cabinet View Golf Club

Boys

1. Hamilton 316, 2. Stevensville 321, 3. Polson 326, 4. Frenchtown 338, 5. Whitefish 348, 6. Columbia Falls 373, 7. Libby 378, 8. Corvallis 386, 9. Glacier JV 401, 10. Flathead JV 439, 11. Browning 457

Top five

1. Ryggs Johnston (Libby) 70, 2. Trey Kelley (Polson) 75, 2. Zach Taylor (Hamilton) 75, 4. Zel Frost (Stevensville) 76, 5. Matt Hobbs (Polson) 77

Also for Libby: Andrew Freese 89, Trey Thompson 109, Alex Svendsbye 110, Keilen Rausch 136

Girls

1. Whitefish 396, 2. Corvallis 401, 3. Polson 406, 4. Browning 420, 5. Hamilton 446, 6. Frenchtown 447, 7. Libby 457

Top five

1. Alana Griffin (Glacier JV) 80, 1. Ella Shaw (Whitefish) 80, 3. Macee Greenwood (Corvallis) 82, 4. Harper Armitage (Frenchtown) 95, 5. Sammee Bradeen (Libby) 96, 5. Cali Cannon (Polson) 96

Also for Libby: Sydney Croucher 103, Emily Carvey 122, Mckenna Mcnulty 136, Kayley Svendsbye 140