FLOSSMOOR | Bree Veazey did not have an auspicious start to her round Monday at the damp Coyote Run Golf Course.
A bogey on her first hole, and a double-bogey on her second hole, the par-4 15th, thanks to her tee shot hitting a cart path and caroming out of bounds.
This was not the Marian Catholic senior’s plan.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is going to be a terrible day,’” Veazey said, “but I buckled down and got going. It got better from there.”
Better enough that Veazey scored 5-over-par 76 for the round, leading the other three players in the Spartans’ quartet of players, and tying for fourth in the Marian Catholic Classic.
To Veazey, a 76 was a revolutionary score.
“Every year, in this first tournament, I shoot 80,” Veazey said. “Always. This is my last year, and I want to play every tournament as well as I can. It’s bittersweet. But there was a lot of golf ahead.”
Including a birdie on the par-4 third hole, which was a tonic.
“In my mind, that erased the double-bogey,” Veazey said.
Steady play guided her in only three strokes behind individual champion Bing Singhsumalee of Waubonsie Valley, who scored 2-over-par 73. Kelly Sterling of Lincoln-Way East was second at 3-over 74.
Marian’s Nina Nicpon tied for 14th with 15-over 86.
Waubonsie Valley won the team competition with a four-player total of 41-over-par 325, three strokes ahead of Naperville North. Marian finished 11th (403), while Homewood-Flossmoor was 15th (441) in the 16-team field.
The rebuilding Vikings were paced by the 96s of junior Kendall Paris and senior Alex Walker, a transfer from Marian who had waited nearly a year to play.
“I practiced a lot, had more time to work on things I needed to work on,” Walker said. “Today, I did better than I thought I would do.”
Both Walker and Paris understand that, given the pedigree of the players who preceded them, helping lead the Vikings to a state Class AA title and two seconds in the last four years, it will take time to rebuild.
“I’m just going to try to lower my score more and more; keep working on things I have trouble with,” Walker said.
“It’s a lot of pressure, but I feel really honored to carry H-F’s name,” Paris said. “It’s hard; I miss all our seniors, but it’s going to be a fun year.”
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