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Holmen High School junior Sam Kube was among the most consistent players for the Vikings a year ago, at one point shooting 10 consecutive rounds in the 70s. Kube entered Monday's Mississippi Valley Conference match at par-71 Hiawatha in Tomah without a round in the 70s this season, but blew away that barrier with an even-par round that allowed him to win the individual title.

“I was happy with the consistency in Sam and everyone's rounds,” Holmen head coach Paul Laxton said. “We lipped out six putts, or the score (307) would have been even better. Sam has started hitting the ball really well.”

Ben Williams finished sixth individually among 35 players at 5-over 76. Scores of 79 from Brandon Temte and 81 from Billy Pearse completed the group of HHS scoring players, with James DeBoer's score thrown out.

Holmen will have a chance to test their scoring punch today at the Whitefish Bay Invitational. The 18-team event, which includes five of the top-11 ranked teams in the state with Eau Claire Memorial, Onalaska, the host, Brookfield Central and Milwaukee Marquette, is played at Brown Deer Park.

Brown Deer Park is the home of the former Greater Milwaukee Open. Brown Deer Park has housed the former GMO since the tournament moved from Tuckaway Country Club in Franklin in 1994.

“Along with Onalaska's invitational at the (La Crosse) Country Club, this is where we get to see the better teams in the state, and we want to be at state,” Laxton said. “It's helped our program be recognized the last few years and allowed us to see some really good golfers. Good golfers want to play with other gold golfers and our team is no different.”

Holmen entered Monday's MVC match off winning Saturday's Viroqua Invitational at 315, six shots ahead of Platteville. The Vikings scoring players, Pearse (6-over 77 on the par 37-34-71 course), Deboer (78), Temte (78) and Kube (80) each finished in the top 10 individually.

“We were pretty consistent there, too,” Laxton said. “Each hole was a different challenge because of the wind. Some holes required a two-club difference because of the wind.”

HHS nearly had its best chance of the season to finish ahead of Onalaska at Tuesday's Black River Falls Invitational at par 36-36-72 Skyline. The Hilltoppers led Holmen through three golfers at 6-over 222, with Onalaska getting an 80 from No. 4 player Clint Ferguson. But Kube and Williams had to miss the match due to advanced placement testing, with Jared Mullenbach's 47-46-93 completing HHS scoring at 316 and 14 shots behind the Hilltoppers.

“If we have Ben or Sam, we might have had a chance to break 300 (76) or win the match (78),” Laxton said. “But we also needed to get more putts to go.”

Pearse (38-35-73) and Temte (40-36-76) had a team-high 12 pars each, while DeBoer (38-36-74) had a team-high four birdies. Each finished in the top six individually among 68 players.

“We were consistent with getting to greens in regulations and fairways,” Laxton said. “We're doing a good job of getting to the green. Now we need to get our putting strokes down. We've been seeing a lot of different greens every round.”

Holmen hosts its invitational Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Drugan's Castle Mound.