Robles just shy of repeat

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HARVARD – Shortly after the final group of players headed into the clubhouse Tuesday at Oak Grove Golf Course, rain and shifting winds gave way to sunshine and a gentle breeze.

“Just good, old, Midwestern weather,” Crystal Lake South sophomore Nick Robles said, after shooting a 6-over-par 77 at the IHSA Class 3A McHenry Regional. “You knew there wasn’t going to be a lot of low scores with the lousy weather conditions out there today.

“I just tried to keep my clubs dry and stayed out of the rain as much as possible.”

Robles won last year’s regional as a freshman, but his round of 77 fell two strokes behind Barrington’s Marc Ackermann, who shot a 4-over 75 to win medalist honors.

“I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself,” Robles said. “I took it one shot at a time.

“Last year’s result had no effect on my play today.”

Cary-Grove senior Matt Efflandt, the Trojans leading scorer at last year’s regional, matched Robles’ 77 by shooting a 39 on the front nine and a 38 on the back.

“The wind was swirling out there, and it was hard to judge how much it would affect the ball on each hole,” Efflandt said. “The course played difficult, but it was still manageable.”

“I had one bad hole where I shot an eight on a par-3, but other than that, I was hitting my irons pretty well and making my putts.”

Efflandt and Robles’ 77s helped the Trojans (319) and the Gators (324) take second and third place, respectively. Barrington (315) took first-place.

“We came off the bus expecting to qualify and get through this day as a team,” South coach Curt Wadlington said. “The boys followed through and executed.”

“I’m extremely proud of them for barreling through the weather and staying focused on their goal.”

With the team’s top-three finishes, both Cary-Grove and Crystal Lake South qualified for the Lake Forest Sectional at Lake Bluff Golf Club on Monday.

“We’re going to have to come out with the same mindset [for sectionals] as we did today,” Wadlington said. “It should be a nice challenge for us.”

McHenry (343) and Woodstock (363) also took part in the regional, but neither team was able to crack the top-three team scores required to advance to sectionals.

The Warriors were led by a trio of 84s, including Spenser Buenzli, Joe Ray and Paul Damiani. All three players made the final cut as individual qualifiers from teams not advancing to sectionals.

Just missing the cut was Woodstock’s Jamie Hagen, who shot an 85 to help lead the Blue Streaks to a seventh-place finish.