No. 1 Tigers wrap up Lakes title

(Photo by Michael Fischer): Spencer's Michael Clark chips onto the green during a meet at Spencer Golf and Country Club on Friday, April 24, 2009. Clark tied a school record for a 9-hole round with a 3-under-par 33 Monday at Cherokee Country Club, helping the No. 1 Tigers wrap up their second straight Lakes Conference dual championship.

Michael Clark broke out in a big way Monday, tying a Spencer record for the best 9-hole round in the storied history of the boys golf program, and the Tigers wrapped up back-to-back Lakes Conference dual championships with a 5-over-par 149 at Cherokee Country Club.

"It's great to go back-to-back -- the guys have to feel great about that accomplishment," said Spencer coach Steve Bomgaars. "We've accomplished one of our goals for the year; we've got several others that we'd like to accomplish as well.

"This is one step on that journey and we'll just take it one step at a time," Bomgaars added.

Clark scored three birdies and carded six pars en route to a 3-under-par 33, a score matched by only three other Spencer golfers.

Mark Mohr was the last player to card a 33 back in 1991. Mike Woods in 1997 and Dick Vetter in 1968 also shot 33s.

"Mike had just a super round. He hit the ball beautifully and he putted well. He was struggling a little bit with the putter, but he broke out of it big time," said Bomgaars.

Spencer finished more than 10 strokes ahead of both opponents; Cherokee shot a 161 and Storm Lake a 170.

Between 1970 and 2008, Spencer has had 10 teams score under 150. This year's Tigers have done it in each of their last three 9-hole meets.

"They're doing it on foreign courses, too. That makes the accomplishment even greater," said Bomgaars.

Jay Monahan was Monday's runner-up medalist with an even-par 36. Craig Cunningham added a 38 and Joe Clark shot a 42. Marc Regnier and Jordan Bates rounded out the scorecard with 43 and 44, respectively.

Spencer (13-0) closes out its second straight Lakes dual season with a perfect 8-0 record. The Tigers took home medalist and runner-up medalist honors in all four of their league meets. Michael Clark was the fourth different Spencer golfer to earn medalist honors in a conference meet in 2009.