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Eichhorn Ends Stellar Career with Sweep
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2017
GLADSTONE — It was business as usual for Hunter Eichhorn at Thursday’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Boys Golf Finals.
The Carney-Nadeau senior fired a 6-under-par 66 on this sunny and mild day at Irish Oaks Golf Course for his fourth consecutive U.P. title.
He also helped the Wolves secure their third straight team championship with 327 strokes, 13 fewer than runner-up Cedarville. North Central placed third at 361.
This marked a nine-stroke improvement from a year ago for Eichhorn, who shot 75 on the same course.
“I hit the ball real well today,” said Eichhorn, who will continue his golf career at Marquette University in Milwaukee. “I didn’t get any bogeys, which is a huge part of it. There’s a little more pressure and more people watching you in the U.P. Finals, but it’s just something you have to get used to.
“I think playing Division I golf is going to be awesome. It’s something I’m prepared for. I’m looking forward to seeing how my game stacks up with the best college golfers in the world. I’m very excited to go there.”
Eichhorn, who will major in business communications, was every bit as happy with the Wolves again taking the team title.
“Winning as a team is a great feeling,” he said. “We’ve had the same team for basically three years, and this was our best score as a group. Everybody kept getting better, which put us in position to succeed.”
Cedarville senior Avry Freel, who’s attending Ferris State University this fall in preparation for his player’s ability test, earned runner-up honors with a 70. Carney senior Mason Linder and North Central junior Ben Snyder shared third place at 80.
“This is the best score I’ve had in a tournament,” said Freel. “My approach shot was working pretty well, and the course and weather conditions were nice. I was a little nervous and three-putted the first hole. Then, I birdied the second hole and settled in. It was hard to get used to the greens at first. We’ve had Finals here the last two years and we practiced here yesterday (Wednesday). I knew which clubs I needed to use.
“I’ve played with Hunter the past three years. I always try to beat him, but he’s such a good player. I have a feeling he’s going to do quite well in college.”
First-year Carney coach Mike Polfus said this was a fun season for him and the players.
“The kids were great and fun to be around,” he added. “Hunter has been phenomenal. He’s an unbelievable leader, and the kids got along real well. There would sometimes be little bit of good-natured ribbing when a kid would miss a shot, and they always complimented each other on a good shot.
“We knew Cedarville would probably the closest team to us, and their kid (Freel) shot a real nice score. It’s good for Hunter to have that competition. It makes him play better and concentrate more.”
Cedarville coach Rob Freel said he was happy with where the Trojans finished.
“I think they played very well,” he added. “Avry had an excellent round. I think Avry and Hunter gave us a real good show. Our boys did as well as they could. It was a little emotional on the last hole.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Carney-Nadeau’s Hunter Eichhorn chips a shot near the green at Thursday’s U.P. Division 3 Golf Finals at Gladstone’s Irish Oaks Golf Course. Eichhorn was medalist with a 66 and led the Wolves to the team title. (Middle) Cedarville’s Avry Freel watches a putt on the way to finishing individual runner-up. (Photos by Mike Mattson.)
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Eichhorn, Carney-Nadeau Repeat in D3
June 2, 2016
By Amanda Chaperon
Special for Second Half
GLADSTONE – On Wednesday, Carney-Nadeau’s Hunter Eichhorn took the afternoon off school to play a practice round at Irish Oaks in Gladstone, where the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals would be played the next day.
Last year, when Eichhorn won medalist for the second year in a row, he shot a 68 at that same course.
And Wednesday was no different. His practice round yielded a 69, so it's safe to say he was feeling pretty good heading into Thursday's round.
Unfortunately, his putting was nowhere close to what he would have liked. But that didn't stop Eichhorn from taking medalist honors for the third year in a row with an 18-hole score of 75.
“He's a tremendous kid,” Wolves coach Jake Polfus said. “He has a tremendous work ethic. He puts all the time in to be this good. You don't see that in many kids in any sport around here. He deserves everything he gets. He had a rough day today, but for him that's not that bad. That's where he's grown the most, is how he manages his golf game.”
Throughout the course of the season, Eichhorn has competed against himself. At most events, he was far-and-away the best golfer on the links. On Thursday, however, he had some competition from Cedarville's Avery Freel, who fell to Eichhorn by just two strokes carding a 77.
“I felt good about Avery's game today,” Cedarville coach Rob Freel said. “And I know he had the potential to give Hunter a run for his money. After 15 holes, they were all square. I knew it was probably going to come right down to the wire. Avery kind of had a bad tee shot on 16 and he ended up with a double bogey there, so that was a momentum-stopper for him.
“They're competitive players, and they both came right down to the wire,” coach Freel added. “Avery just fell a little short.”
Avery Freel's overall strategy was a pretty good one considering he was neck-and-neck with the two-time champ with three holes to play.
“I was just trying to match him shot for shot pretty much,” Avery said. “Overall, I thought I played pretty good. I shot even on the front (nine) and then I was just trying to stay with him, and on 16 I had that double (bogey) and that's when it fell apart.”
Despite the fact Freel was going up against “the champ” and one of the best prep golfers in the entire U.P. in any division, he didn't feel he had to change his game.
“It's not hard,” Freel said with a laugh. “You just play your own game.”
Which is exactly what his opponent, Eichhorn, did to earn himself the honor of top player at the tournament, and also help his team to its second straight U.P. Finals title.
Well, that, and knock in a few crucial putts.
One of those big putts was to birdie No. 17, a par three. While Eichhorn’s putts down the stretch saved him, he wasn't impressed with his short game overall.
“My putting was brutal,” he said with a laugh. “I made the two biggest putts that I had to make, but other than that, I didn't make anything.
“I played a lot better last year,” he added. “And I played here a lot better yesterday (Wednesday). I was getting beat by Avery with I think four holes to go, but I made those big putts to secure the win and to help our team win.”
The Wolves totaled a 344, comprised of scores from Eichhorn, Mason Linder (87), Cameron Kuntze (89), and Kage Linder (93).
“I think the way they practice is a huge strength,” Polfus said. “You know, how much time they put into it. And our one through five. We used our fifth golfer's score today instead of our number four, so I just think that helps out a lot. I feel like we're deep, and just their work ethic is always a good thing.”
Avery Freel's score factored into his team's runner-up finish. The Trojans shot a combined 358, helped also by Mike Haske (93), Chase Fisher (94), and Trevor Kohlmann (94).
The top five individual scores were rounded out by Mitchell Borseth of Ontonagon in third with a score of 81, followed by Painesdale-Jeffers' Jacob Zerbst with an 82 and Lake Linden-Hubbell's Jason Sutherland with an 83.
The Wolves and Trojans were followed in the team standings by Chassell with a score of 361, Ontonagon with a 362 and Painesdale-Jeffers with a 374.
PHOTOS: (Top) Carney-Nadeau's Hunter Eichhorn watches his drive on hole No. 15 at Irish Oaks Golf Club in Gladstone during Thursday's Division 3 U.P. Final. Eichhorn was medalist with a 75. (Middle) Cedarville's Avery Freel putts on hole No. 17. Freel finished second overall with a 77. (Photos by Amanda Chaperon.)