Hoover takes second at Northern League Event #5

The Niwot boys golf team was back in familiar territory last week, with two league tournaments at local venues.

On Aug. 22, Cougars head coach Ed Weaver played host to a 9-team field for Northern League #4 at Longmont’s Twin Peaks Golf Course. Thanks to an unexpectedly uneven round from Niwot number-one Jack Hoover, the home team finished 50 strokes off the lead to come in fifth overall.

Hoover shot +12 on the front nine, with a triple-bogey on the seventh, followed by consecutive double-bogeys on eight and nine. The junior settled down after carding a birdie on the 11th hole, with pars on four of his next seven holes. He finished the day at +16, which was good for 13th place overall.

Junior Andrew Elliott finished in 18th place, with a +18. Sophomore Sam Hoover (+25) was 26th, freshman Luc Blondeau (+30), who had a par on the fourth hole, took 32nd, and sophomore Luke Martinez (+36) was 36th.

Hoover bounced back in a big way on Aug. 24 with a second-place finish at Northern League Event #5, held at Sunset Golf Course on Longmont. In stark contrast to the prior match, the junior was just +1 after the first nine, with two birdies and five pars. He ran into trouble on the back nine, and finished the day +7, just two strokes off the lead.

Unfortunately, it was not such a good day for the rest of the Cougars. Niwot was without Elliott, their number-two, who was tending to school matters. The rest of the team was a combined +101, and Niwot finished seventh out of nine teams.

Niwot head coach Ed Weaver wasn’t overly concerned about Hoover’s inconsistent week, saying the junior “will be ok” down the stretch despite the off day at Twin Peaks. However, he is concerned about his third, fourth, and fifth golfers, who seem to have hit a plateau in their progress.

“I was hoping this week would be a transition week,” said Weaver, especially since the team is familiar with the courses. “I was hoping we’d start moving forward faster.”

The Cougars will have a chance to redeem themselves at Northern League Event #6 at the Quail Dunes Golf Course in Fort Morgan on Aug. 29. If that doesn’t work, there’s always the Walt Clark Invitational at the Olde Course in Loveland on Aug. 31.

Northern League Event #4, Twin Peaks GC, Aug. 22

Team Scores — Thompson Valley 325, Mountain View 336, Longmont 356, Centaurus 371, Niwot 375, Northridge 379, Silver Creek 388, Greeley Central, Fort Morgan

Niwot Individuals — t13. Jack Hoover, 86; 18. Andrew Elliott, 88; 26. Sam Hoover 95; 32. Luc Blondeau 100; t36. Luke Martinez, 106

Northern League Event #5, Sunset GC, Aug. 24

Team Scores — Thompson Valley 325, Silver Creek 338, Mountain View 339, Northridge 342, Centaurus 345, Longmont 350, Niwot 380, Fort Morgan 381, Greeley Central

Niwot Individuals — 2. Jack Hoover, 75; 29. Sam Hoover 94; 36. Luc Blondeau 104; t39. Luke Martinez, 107.