Wednesday, June 20, 2007 1:11 AM CDT
Kepley edges Mattoon teammate for title
BY BRIAN NIELSEN Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
MATTOON - For a while Kirk Kepley had the luxury of wishing his Mattoon High School teammate well.
With a four-stroke lead halfway through Tuesday’s Central Illinois Junior Golf Tour event, Kepley was ahead of fellow Green Wave golfer Nick Heller by nine strokes.
“He was in the group in front of me,” Kepley said. “I saw him kicking it in on the back nine so I knew it would be close.
“We root each other on as much as we can but of course we try to one-up each other.”
This one belonged to Kepley.
Recovering in time from some late-round struggles, he parred the 18th hole to secure his championship with a 6-over-par 80 and edge Heller by two strokes to win the boys’ 16-18 division at Mattoon Golf & Country Club.
Decatur’s Matt Minder in the college division, Effingham’s Katie Klosterman in the girls’, Effingham’s Michael Koester in the boys’ 14-15 age group and Robinson’s Warren Whithaus among ages 12-13 were other winners in the junior tour’s fourth event of the year.
Kepley’s even-par 36 turned out to be enough to survive with a 44 on the back holding off Heller, who after comeback bid with a 37 back-nine fell two strokes short as he finished second among eight 16-18 age division golfers.
This was the first title of the season so far in the CIGT for Kepley.
“I’ve struggled so it was good to get a good one in,” he said.
This was not as if Kepley had an overwhelming home-course advantage.
Tuesday marked the first round this year at the country club for the regular at Meadowview Golf Course where Mattoon’s high school team plays most of its home matches.
He just had an improved game over recent rounds.
“I was rolling the ball better on the greens and hitting the fairways,” said Kepley, who had two birdies and two bogeys in his even-par front nine and then survived a quadruple bogey and triple bogey on the back.
Heller, a Mattoon Golf & Country Club member, dug himself too deep of a hole with a 45 on his way to second place a week after a runner-up finish at Charleston Country Club.
“I just had a bad day,” Heller said. “Just like Kirk, I had a couple of bad holes. Kirk had some pretty good stuff.”
Heller, who is going to be a Mattoon High School junior, and Kepley, gearing for his senior season with hopes of playing college golf, are both signed up for the Coles County Amateur, which is to play Saturday at Meadowview Golf Course and Sunday at Mattoon Country Club.
“I like the timing of this tournament,” Kepley said. “You kind of get a practice round.”
This was the first CIJGT event of the year for Minder, whose main summer focus is the Midwest Collegiate Series.
A student of the San Diego Golf Academy in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Minder was back in action after pulling out of a tourney last week with a wrist injury and posted the day’s best score with a 5-over-par 77.
The Decatur Christian High school graduate shot an even-par 36 on the front nine to lead Tyler Klingel by three strokes.
Then even when struggling with a 41 on the back nine, the other three collegiate entries shot 49 or worse on the back so Minder won by an 11-stroke margin.
“I was 2-under (par) through eight holes and then caught a pretty horrific break on 9 and another bad break on 10,” Minder said. “I had it going. The win was tough today. I was either over-clubbing or under-clubbing all day.
“If you miss a spot here, you’re done.”
After winning the Big I Junior Tournament last week at Mattoon, Effingham’s Katie Klosterman returned for Tuesday’s win against Holly Shupe, the only other entry in this CIJGT girls’ division with an 87.
Shupe, preparing for her senior season at Cumberland, won two previous tour events and with a 43 front-nine had a one-stroke edge at the turn. But she struggled with a 53 on the back nine while Klosterman shot a 44 for the nine-stroke win.
“I putted when I needed to,” said Klosterman, who is going to be a sophomore at Effingham and is the daughter of the legendary former football coach at the school.
Shupe was not able to do that on this day even playing at her home course.
Her main downfall was a 9 on the par-5 12th hole.
“I just missed putts,” she said. “A bad shot here, a bad shot there. It was a bad day.”
The 14-15 age division had 21 boys playing with Koester, who is to be an Effingham freshman, shooting back to back 42s for his 84 and a one-stroke win over Brady Welsh who went 44-41.
Whithaus won his third straight 12-13 age division title by shooting 41-45—86. Mattoon’s Kris Heller was two strokes behind for second among the four age division entries.
Next on the CIGT is a Thursday event at Newton’s Stones Throw Golf Club.
AWARD WINNERS
College
1. Matt Minder 77; 2. Tyler Klingel 88; 3. Marissa Alexander 94
Girls
1. Katie Klosterman 87; 2. Holly Shupe 96
Boys ages 16-18
1. Kirk Kepley 80; 2. Nick Heller 82; 3. Alex White 84
Boys ages 14-15
1. Michael Koester 84; 2. Brady Welsh 85; 3. Shane Witsman 86
Boys ages 12-13
1. Warren Whithaus 86; 2. Kris Heller 88; 3. Anthony Lechman 106
Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
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