WAVERLY – Peter Marsho ’12 came back from Saturday’s opening-round 3-over-par 75 to shoot the same score Sunday en route to a 12th-place finish with a 150 at the Wartburg College Invitational.
Next in line for the Pioneers was Marsho’s brother, Chris ’14, who had an 82-82-164 to tie for 63rd.
Jon Cohen ’14 tied for 75th with an 83-83-166, Jimmy Borrasso ’12 had a 78-89-167 to tie for 79th and Ian Luby ’13 tallied an 81-87-168 to tie for 81st.
Grinnell finished 14th in the team standings with a 643, shooting a 327 on Sunday after tallying 316 the day before.
Kirkwood Community College won the team title with a 596 and Jeremy Carper of Wartburg won the individual crown with a 143.
Grinnell had two golfers compete as individuals. Ethan Kenvarg ’12 tied for 72nd with an 83-82-165, and Logan Granera ’12 was 98th with an 87-90-177.
Grinnell coach Brian Jaworski said his team is starting to hit its stride.
“Did we win the golf tournament this weekend? No. Did we compete, improve and learn more about our team? Yes, we accomplished all three,” he said. “Chris Marsho not only had a 164, but he had seven birdies on the weekend. I can't remember one of our guys scoring seven birdies on a weekend and I have been head coach for the last six years. More impressive is the fact that this was the first and second time Chris has ever seen the course. Hats off to him.
“Peter was Peter with six birdies on the weekend,” Jaworski continued. “He was very good, gritty and mentally tough. I love watching him play - he is nails strong in every way and he comes through when he needs it most. However, tonight he takes a back seat to his brother, Chris (seven birdies to six) and that is really fun to see. Little bro' beats big bro' in birdies at Wartburg. LOVE IT.”
Jaworski said the Pioneers’ success didn’t stop with the Marsho brothers, though.
“Jimmy was great on Saturday and we need more of that 78,” the coach said. “What Jimmy has proved to this team is that he is a winner and someone who can be trusted to come through when we need it most. Sunday's scores … you have to ask Jimmy.
“Ethan put together a solid weekend,” Jaworski continued. “I love Ethan's game. He is long and straight and that works on the courses we play. He took advantage of the opportunity to play this weekend, AND I knew it meant a lot to him to play in front of his good friend Alan. Well done, Ethan.
“I didn't get the chance to see Logan play much this weekend, but after talking with him on the course he told me that he had three bad holes,” Jaworski added. “His length and strength can be a problem when he's not accurate off the tee. However, I thought his play justified our choice in selecting him to play this weekend. Even though he played as an individual in the tournament, he is always a team player and was an important component of this team this weekend.
"Jon Cohen also got his engine started this weekend," Jaworski concluded. "He began to show the form we know he has in him. Bison (Ian Luby) was really good on Day 1, but horrible on Day 2. He is a captain for a reason, and everyone has a bad day, but he was not mentally ready and it bit him today."
Putting all the pieces together, Jaworski said his team is on a roll.
“In a nutshell, we are tracking,” he said. “Our guys know what that means and I expect our guys to keep rockin' and rollin', focused on what we can do and not what we didn't do,” he said. “We're tracking.”
The Pioneers compete at the Buena Vista Spring Invitational next weekend.
