Lake Forest senior Pierce Grieve and junior Jack Marshall already have played leading roles in their careers.
After guiding the Scouts to a Class 3A state championship last season, Grieve and Marshall are back and make Lake Forest one of the top contenders for a title again.
Patrick Moorhead, who finished second individually at the state meet, was Lake Forest’s only player to graduate. The Scouts return plenty of experience with seniors Charlie Haggerty, Flynn Bradley and Colin Jasper, who all placed in the top 32 at the state meet.
But Lake Forest coach Jim Matheson said Grieve and Marshall are the driving forces behind the Scouts’ pursuit of their first back-to-back state titles since 2010-11. Matheson said Grieve and Marshall are different personalities on the course, however.
“If there ever is a No. 1 player, it’s Pierce, both on and off the course in how he plays and acts,” Matheson said. “He’s the leader of the team. He’s the most outspoken. He wants to be the man, accepts it, and there’s no doubt who it is.
“Jack might have something to say about it, though, but Pierce is more outgoing and the leader. Jack’s very mature and leads with his own play. He goes about it in a quiet way. Pierce goes about it in a loud way. He has fun whatever he’s doing. He keeps everybody loose.”
Grieve relishes the role that calls for him to be an example for teammates and encourage them to have fun too.
“At the end of the day, golf is a game,” Grieve said. “While there’s nothing I want more than success for my team, it’s always nice to have a good time out there.”
Marshall noted that Grieve is the ultimate competitor because of his ability to switch gears.
“Pierce is a goofy personality, but when he gets into tournament mindset, he’s the most focused guy I know,” Marshall said. “He stays away from socializing and gets down to business. When I hear on the course he’s playing well, it brings my game up.
“I want to prove to myself he’s not leaps and bounds ahead of me or I’m just as good as him. We feed of each other and both have firepower.”
Marshall and Bradley tied for 20th at the state meet last season by carding a 154 over two days. Haggerty finished one stroke behind them and tied for 25th. Grieve was another stroke back, tying for 30th, and Jasper was a stroke behind him and tied for 32nd.
“We have one goal — go back to state,” Grieve said.
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Matheson said the Scouts are approaching the season one day at a time because of the uncertainty during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have kids shooting upper 70s, low 80s, and I have to cut them,” Matheson said. “It’s crazy. This group, especially the seniors, is so good and so deep. We have five kids coming back, but we have at least three kids fighting to break into that group of five and pushing them.”
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.