GOLF - OCEAN COUNTY TOURNAMENT: HERTGEN, WILDCATS TAKE OCT TITLES

    LAKEWOOD -- Making his way down his back nine at Eagle Ridge Golf Club, Monsignor Donovan senior Dave Hertgen knew the Ocean County Tournament individual title was in his cross hairs. After hearing some of the scores that had already come in he got the feeling that with two holes to play the crown was his to lose. Did the pressure get to him? Maybe. But the cushion he built over the previous 16 holes provided enough breathing room.
    Despite bogeying the final two holes, Hertgen's nine-over 81 on Monday was one shot better than Logan Dudas of Central and Alan Berg of New Egypt and netted him the 2008 Ocean County Tournament individual championship. The Griffins' No. 1 set the pace early with a 39 on his first nine holes (his group started on hole No. 9) and slipped only slightly with a 42 on the back.
    "It was definitely nerve wracking," Hertgen said. "I came in bogey-bogey, but I was just trying to keep it straight. I thought I hit the ball well all day. I was a little shaky with the driver but my irons were good all day and they saved me."
    Heading into his final hole, No. 8, Hertgen had a two-shot lead over Dudas, who finished with an 82 and placed second via a match of cards with Berg. Hertgen left his tee shot on the 151-yard, par-3 hole short of the green and on the fringe to the left, but was still in good position to place an accurate approach shot, which he did to leave himself with a par putt from about 15 feet below the pin. Hertgen's par putt turned right at the last second, but stopped just inches from the cup for an easy tap-in for bogey and a final scored of 81.
    A crucial stretch for Hertgen came early in his round. After starting three-over after his first three holes, he settled down and played even for the next eight holes to move to the top of the leaderboard.
    "That was a nice stretch for me," Hertgen said. "I missed two 15-inch putts but I knew there was going to be other people having the same problems and I just had to keep my composure."
    Hertgen's victory means he qualifies for the Shore Conference Tournament on May 5 and also the Jersey Shore Challenge Cup. But before then he'll have a chance to keep his momentum going at next week's Wildcat Invitational.
    "I hope I can carry this over," Hertgen said. "I gauge myself on tournaments. Matches are good but they're not as nerve wracking as the tournaments. They're where you really test yourself."
    Dudas came in second over Berg because of a match of cards on the back nine. The Golden Eagles junior also helped his team place second with a 360. For placing in the top three, Dudas also was extended an invitation to the Jersey Shore Challenge Cup.
    "I hit a couple of stupid shots on the first three holes but I putted extremely well all day, anything inside 10 feet was like a tap-in for me," Dudas said. "Second place is very good for considering we had an 84 (Ryan Lagravenis) and then two scores in the 90s."
    Berg was third, but because New Egypt is not a Shore Conference team, Point Boro's Wil Hawthorne, who shot an 83 and placed fourth, was extended the third invitation for the JSCP. Rounding out the top five was Southern's DJ Longstreet, who also carded an 83.
    The favorites for the team title included the usual suspects: Southern, Central, Toms River North, Monsignor Donovan. But it was Pinelands which was able to surprise the field with a consistent effort that saw three players finish at 87 and two more card 91s. No player was among the top 10 individuals, but the Wildcats were also able to avoid the one, and sometimes two, scores in the 100s that seemed to plague every other squad.
    "It feels great," said team captain John Schilling, who was one of the three who carded an 87. "I told our team to just come out and do their best and that's what they did. We all shoot pretty even and we feel like when we do that we can beat the teams that have the low scores but also have the high ones, too."
    "The No. 1 and the No. 5 can be switched around on any given day," said Wildcats first-year head coach Jim Becker. "They're not all crazy about the number where they play, they're all about the team."
    Along with Schilling, Tony Bowen and Eric Logue also shot 87s. Coming in at 91 were Curt Cramer and Jason Keple.
    "I was surprised when I saw the scores but this just proves we can compete in tournaments," Schilling said.
    "These guys deserve all the credit," Becker said. "They have really picked it up and gone above and beyond."
    The top six teams qualified for the Shore Conference Tournament. After Pinelands (352) and Central (360), Southern was third with a 361. Finishing fourth was Jackson Liberty with a 363 while Toms River North and Monsignor Donovan both shot 366 to capture the final two remaining spots.


Ocean County Tournament
At Eagle Ridge Golf Club, Lakewood
Par 72, 6,223 yards.

Team Scoring
*Top six teams quality for the Shore Conference Tournament*

1. Pinelands 352
2. Central 360
3. Southern 361
4. Jackson Liberty 363
5. Toms River North 366
6. Monsignor Donovan 366
7. New Egypt 367
8. Brick Memorial 368
9. Point Boro 370
10. Jackson 371
11. Toms River South 373
12. Barnegat 385
13. Toms River East 385
14. Brick 422
15. Lakewood 423
16. Lacey 454
17. Point Beach 489
18. Manchester 511


Individual Results
*93 or better qualifies for the Shore Conference Tournament

1. Dave Hertgen (Monsignor Donovan) 81
2. Logan Dudas (Cenral) 82
3. Alan Berg (New Egypt) 82
4. Wil Hawthorne (Point Boro) 83
5. D.J. Longstreet (Southern) 83
6. Sean Daly (Brick Memorial) 84
7. Ryan Lagravenis (Central) 84
8. Chris Nelson (Monsignor Donovan) 84
9. Alex Stoddard (Jackson Liberty) 85
10. Kyle Jeans (Toms River North) 86
11. Matt Federowicz (Monsignor Donovan) 86
12. Brian Oldham (Toms River South) 87
13. Justin Lee (Jackson) 87
14. John Schilling (Pinelands) 87
15. Tony Bowen (Pinelands) 87
16. Eric Logue (Pinelands) 87
17. Stephen Kezel (Jackson) 88
18. Connor O'Brien (Southern) 88
19. Alex Daudier (Brick) 89
20. Steffen Schenkenberg (Jackson Liberty) 89
21. Brandon Wausch (Toms River South) 90
22. Matt Tirpak (Toms River North) 90
23. Brett Walker (Southern) 91
24. Craig Moncrief (Toms River North) 91
25. Curt Cramer (Pinelands) 91
26. Jason Kepel (Pinelands) 91
27. Evan Hernandez (Toms River East) 91
28. Jack Mulvihill (Barnegat) 92
29. Ryan Barnes (New Egypt) 93
30. Matt Cannis (Toms River South) 93
31. Erik Ruff (Point Boro) 93
32. Joe Prandato (Barnegat) 93
33. Mike Shin (Jackson) 93
34. Greg Smida (Jackson Liberty) 93.
 
 


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