Patient Frigo Punches Ticket To Golf Sectional

Slow and steady isn’t usually the way Mari Frigo likes to play a round of golf.

But the Evanston senior’s ability to adapt to the situation --- a threesome that played at a slow pace --- paid off big Tuesday at the Class 2A Glenbrook South Regional tournament at Glenview Park Golf Club.

Frigo fired a 41 on the back nine, for a total of 86, and claimed one of the automatic qualifying spots for next week’s Barrington Sectional tourney.

Frigo, one of the 10 automatic individual qualifiers who weren’t members of the top 3 teams at the regional, will compete next Monday at Bonnie Dundee Golf Club in Carpentersville for a chance to advance to the Illinois High School Association state finals.

Saturday’s round was a round of redemption for Frigo. She’s not the same player who ballooned to a 94 at last year’s regional test, on a tougher course, and she became the second ETHS player in the past three years to reach the sectional level.

She’s more patient, too, and she had to rein in the desire to get too aggressive playing in a slow group Tuesday. She led Evanston to tie for 7th place in the team standings with Loyola Academy at 371, behind automatic team qualifiers Stevenson (305), Glenbrook North (309) and New Trier (311) in the 11-team field.

The Wildkits counted a 90 by sophomore Tessa Harvey, a 94 by senior Lili Proctor and a 101 by sophomore Gemma Sheehan. Also competing for ETHS were sophomore Elise Hilbrant (113) and senior Molly O’Hare (115).

Frigo’s closing spurt included a par on the No. 17 hole that sealed her bid to keep the season alive. With that effort, she was able to survive a double bogey on the final hole when she hit her tee shot into the water, then found a sand trap on her second shot there.

“I was up and down the whole day, and that really kept me on my toes,” said the Evanston senior. “I don’t really like to keep score as I go along, but after 9 holes I felt like I had to do better than where I was at 10-over (par). I needed to lock in. I needed to slow down, take my time and think about every shot.

“I had some blowup holes. I’d get a birdie, then a double and I’d be back to ground zero again. I have a lot of patience, but I like to play fast and be aggressive whenever I can. But safe shots always get you into a better position and I was able to adapt and play slower today.”

Frigo’s tee shots set the tone for the sectional qualifying round. She consistently boomed tee shot farther than the two golfers in her group from Deerfield and Highland Park, and finished her round with birdies on No. 16 and No. 13 and pars on No. 2, No. 3, No. 6 and No. 17. She easily beat the individual cutoff score of 88 in windy conditions at the open Glenview course.

“It’s awesome. It’s always nice to have a sectional qualifier,” said Wildkit head coach Karilyn Joyce. “Usually, because we don’t play in a lot of (18-hole) tournaments during the year, our girls score a lot better on the front nine than on the back. But Mari was just on today.

“She came out here Saturday and played a practice round (shooting an 84) and I know that helped her. She’s driving the ball so much better this year, and you have to hit your drives to hang with these girls (elite players) here.

“Mari didn’t do well at conference and we knew that didn’t show what she could really do. It was just a bad day, and everyone has them.”

“I shot a 90 at conference, and that was rough,” Frigo said. “I was really happy with my tee shots today, although I did miss some putts I should have made. Tee shots are always a No. 1 priority because that’s what sets you up for a better score. I’m hitting them farther than last year, I know that.

“What else is different from last year? I’ve started just playing the game well, and by that I mean choosing the right clubs, and playing smart and safe golf.”