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‘COEN’ LOW: Freshman Coen Pennington leads St. Anthony boys golf team to fifth-place finish at Boys Prep Tour Showcase | Local Sports

Despite being the smallest school in the field, the St. Anthony boys golf team played well above its enrollment at the 2022 Boys Golf Prep Tour Showcase.

The Bulldogs finished fifth in the 16-team event at The Den at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington, carding a 31-over-par 319.

Hinsdale Central (enrollment of 2,705) won the event after carding a 10-over-par 298. Lemont (enrollment of 1,376) finished second at 21-over-par. Lockport (enrollment of 3,796) finished third at 24-over-par, and Ottawa (enrollment of 1,245) finished fourth at 27-over-par.

“We were talking on the way up, and I said we could make a run at it,” St. Anthony head coach Phil Zaccari said. “But, honestly, top five? We’re playing with the big boys. To finish in the top five in this tournament; that’s pretty good.

“I liked how we tried to finish strong; I think we need to eat more snacks to be stronger at the end.”

Freshman Coen Pennington led the charge for the Bulldogs by shooting a four-over-par 76. That score was good for a 13th-place showing, individually.

Pennington didn’t record one birdie on his card but made up for it with 14 pars, highlighted by a six-hole stretch where he parred each one.

“Coen shot great for his first high school tournament,” Zaccari said. “He medaled for us and finished in the top 15, and he was just so steady. No birdies, but just so very steady.”

Senior Jonathan Willenborg came in with the second-lowest score on the team with a six-over-par 78.

Willenborg shot three-over-par 39 on both the front- and back-nines, even though Zaccari said that he could have gone even lower but found himself in a bind on his last two holes, both of which resulted in bogeys.

“Jonathan, he leaked it out at the end. He didn’t finish great, but he still played solid all the way around, breaking 80,” Zaccari said.

Pennington and Willenborg were the only two Bulldogs to finish with a round in the 70s.

However, that number could easily have been four.

Junior Charlie Wegman — the Bulldogs’ No. 6 golfer for the tournament — carded the third-lowest score on the team with a nine-over-par 81, a performance his coach was happy to see.

“Charlie Wegman stepped up today, got to credit him,” Zaccari said. “He played steadily, too. No birdies, but just ground [the holes] out.”

Wegman shot a six over par 42 on the front nine with two double bogeys on two of his first three holes but rebounded with a three over par 39 on the back nine.

Wegman wasn’t the only one to have a stronger back-nine, though.

Junior Preston Phillips — St. Anthony’s fourth-and-final score — finished with a 12-over-par 84. He shot a five-over-par 41 on the back-nine after a seven-over-par 43 on the front. He double-bogeyed two holes on the front nine and two on the back nine.

UP NEXT

St. Anthony returns to action today at the St. Anthony Invitational, held at Indian Springs Golf Course in Fillmore, Illinois. The tournament starts at 9 am Locally, Altamont, Effingham, and Teutopolis are all scheduled to play.

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