Boys golf
North's Katz disappointed with outcome at states
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Jake Katz wanted to close his high school golf career with a top-ten finish at the New York State Championships. Had he shot better on several par-3 holes, his goal could have been reached.

The Williamsville North senior shot a two-day score of 158 (6-over) to place tied for 13th at the state meet held June 3-4 at Cornell University's Robert Trent Jones Golf Course in Ithaca, N.Y.

Katz shot a 2-over 74 on Sunday and a 4-over 76 on Monday but felt his scores could have been lowered had he made some key shots on both days.

"On Sunday, I hit a par-3 shot out of bounds and another went short in the water so I had to hit again and it cost me four shots," said Katz. "On Monday, I scored an eight on a par-5 hole that I birdied the day before. In total, that's six shots that would have gotten me to even-par and a place in the top ten which was my goal."

Katz, who finished 44th as a sophomore and 33rd as a junior, used his experience from the course at previous state tournaments to his advantage. On the par-5 eighteenth hole on Sunday, he used a driver to hit the ball 348 yards and followed with a 7-iron to hit 210 yards. It led to a 4-foot putt, which he eagled.

"In previous years, I would use a driver on every hole," said Katz. "This year, I hit my driver four times per round and used a 3-wood or 3-iron on every par-4. I was more conservative about keeping it in play off the tee."

"I was also practicing really hard at putting," he continued. "I had been horrible at Cornell in previous years, but I only missed one or two putts from five feet."

Katz is looking forward to playing in several amateur qualifying tournaments this summer to gain more experience before he plays this coming year at Division I University of Binghamton.