SLUH’s golf squad began the season sizzling with a 237-245 against conference opponent St. John Vianney at Tapawingo Golf Club on March 28, with senior captain Louis Cornett shooting an even par 36, followed closely by a one over par from senior Thomas Ziegler. 

After a solid win, St. Louis U. High went on a brief cold spell, struggling in the Bantle Tournament the next day and against Chaminde on April 4. SLUH rebounded the next week with two wins over Ladue and Westminster, and a fifth place tournament finish at the Bulldog Battle Tournament, highlighted by round in the 70’s by Cornett, Ziegler, and senior Sam Orlando. 

The following week, the Jr. Bills had mixed results with a deserved loss against CBC, a top five finish at the Webster Cup, and a dominant win against John Burroughs. The mixed results would only continue the week of April 25 with seventh place at the Lake Forest Tournament and another unfortunate loss against CBC with four rounds in the 30’s.

The Jr. Bills were at a huge disadvantage at the Vianney match on March 28, with Tapawingo being Vianney’s home course and being owned by members of their golf team, but it wouldn’t be enough to overcome SLUH. The team set high hopes for the rest of the season with several low scores, the highest being only at six over par. 

Coming off the win, they had a quick turnaround with the SLUH hosted Bantle Tournament taking place the next day. The five players selected to be in the tournament weren’t able to further their success on the course from the previous day with all five rounds being in the 80’s.

“The Bantle tournament is interesting because it’s the most in depth field at such an early point in that season and has the most competitions,” said senior Miles Schulte. “We played okay, but the conditions were tough with the wind and the cold.”

 The varsity squad was ready to roll in hot and shake off poor play for their second conference matchup against the Chaminade Red Devils at Greenbriar Hills Country Club, but it wouldn't be that easy. The combination of poor execution and bad luck cost the team their shot against last year’s state champions, narrowly losing 241-242 with Ziegler being the only player to break 40 at 3-over par.

“It was not our best day, it was not Chaminade’s best day. The match was delayed about 30 minutes so there was a lot of waiting around beforehand and nobody on either team was loose. Losing by one is tough and all eight guys can think back on their round and think of one shot they want back,” said senior Owen Rittenhouse. “In the end we put up a great fight against the best team in the state and the reigning state champs which is something we can hold our heads high on.”

 After two days of struggle, the squad got it back together with a few easy match wins against Ladue and Westminster, along with some solid play in the Bulldog Battle and Webster tournaments. The Bills bested Ladue (237-243) and Westminster (236-245) with ease, thanks to solid play all around to put them at a 3-1 record. 

In tournament play, the team had both poor and strong play but couldn’t secure any wins with a fifth place finish at the Bulldog Battle Tournament at Winghaven CC, a fourth place finish at the Webster Cup at Crescent Farms GC, and a seventh place finish at the Lake Forest Invitational at Lake Forest CC. At Bulldog and Webster, Louis Cornett led the team once again with a 72 (even) at Winghaven and 76 (+4) at Crescent Farms, earning him individual medalist honors. 

“We are still looking to find our rhythm for the season,” said Cornett. “The two tournaments gave us much-needed experience but we were unable to have five consistent scores from the team to retain our trophies. The team wasn’t too happy with the level of play but we’ll use these tournaments to prepare us for districts on May 9.”

The Jr. Bills’ next matchup would be against conference opponent CBC at Winghaven. The team struggled immensely with poor shots and adjusting to the speed of the greens. SLUH was bested 233-249 with no Jr. Billiken golfers breaking 40 except for junior Austin Wald’s 1-over par 37. 

One week later SLUH faced off against CBC once again, this time at SLUH’s home course at Forest Park, but the result wasn’t much different. The squad showed solid play narrowing the score gap but fell again 226-234. The team was led by Schulte and Ziegler at two-over par and accompanied by three more scores of 40 or less. 

In the interim, varsity competed in a match against John Burroughs at the Bogey Club. The course played short and fairly easy for the team and they were able to beat out JBS with a score of 196-207, once again led by Ziegler at even par.