Bowen takes Notre Dame Regional

Updated: October 4, 2011 9:01PM

Some players might have looked at the scorecard for Mission Hills Country Club and scoffed at short yardage, thinking they could take advantage of the par-70 Northbrook track on the warm and sunny Tuesday.

Not so fast.

No player came close to breaking par on the 6,180-yard host of the Notre Dame Regional as New Trier’s Fitz Bowen earned medalist honors with a 4-over 74. The senior’s one birdie came at the 360-yard, par-4 sixth hole.

“There’s out of bounds every hole, and the fairways are tight,” Bowen said. “A lot of kids probably thought for sure they could get under par here.”

Bowen kept his ball in play and didn’t make any major mistakes during his winning round.

“There were a lot of nerves on the tees, but I didn’t hit it OB,” he said. “I didn’t make more than a bogey, so I never got too down on myself.

“Par was a good score here, so I was happy with that every time.”

The Trevians won the regional title with a 309 to beat out Loyola by seven strokes. New Trier’s Ian Wright and Loyola’s Michael Hultquist both tied for third with 76s. Maine South’s Luke Wlodarski finished alone in second with his 75 to led the list of at-large qualifiers. The cut for those players stood at 85.

“I was hitting the ball well on the front nine,” said Wlodarski, who shot 35-40 to advance to the sectionals for the first time in his career. “My swing started to get a little shaky on the back, but I was able to keep it together.”

Evanston was the third and final team to make it out of the regionals after the Wildkits shot 321. Sophomore Jackson Mihevc shot 76 to earn a share of third place. Despite struggling to a 48 on the front nine, sophomore Henry Gruger turned it around to post a 36 on the back for an 84 that counted as Evanston’s fourth score.

“You never know what the scores are going to be, so you always have to fight till the last hole,” Wildkits coach Jed Curtis said.

Trips to the state tournament will be at stake Monday at Balmoral Woods Country Club in Crete.

“I’m really thinking only about the team,” said Bowen, who hopes to help the Trevians capture their first state title since 2003. “We have more team chemistry than any other team I’ve been part of. That’s going to be to our benefit.”

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