But for Goecke, it wasn’t good enough. Since those first two holes he has dominated his 10 attempts on holes 1 through 4 with nine birdies through three rounds on his way to a six-shot lead in the 102nd Metropolitan Championship.
“If you’re not off to a good start, you’re kind of behind the eight ball already, and you’re losing some shots to the field,” he said after doubling his lead. “My focus is to get off to a good start and let everything else fall in place after that.”
The plan is working, and Goecke keeps getting better in the 90-plus degrees heat wave that has choked the Miami Valley for a week. On Friday, Goecke birdied No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4. On Saturday, he birdied all four on his way to a 64 to best his first two rounds of 67 and 65.
“Tee to green he just keeps his head in the game, and his mindset’s really good,” said Timmy Hollenbeck, who shot 67 Saturday and is in second place with a six-shot cushion. “He just puts his eyes on the prize.”
Goecke and Hollenbeck aren’t the average local golfer. Goecke, who played at Carroll High School, was the Horizon League Player of the Year at Wright State in 2022 and 2023. After graduating with a degree in finance, Goecke played his fifth year, courtesy of the Covid pandemic, at Illinois and tied for second at the NCAA championships. Hollenbeck, from Mason High School, was the Horizon League freshman of the year this past season.
Hollenbeck said he has happy with his recent play and especially happy to be hitting more fairways than usual in the Metro.
“Keeping the ball in play is the best thing to shoot well here, and having good opportunities to make birdies out here is the best way you can do that,” he said.
Goecke and Hollenbeck had crossed paths but never played golf together until Friday. They will play together again in Sunday’s final round.
“Wish we got to play in college together,” Hollenbeck said. “He’s just a great golfer. It’s fun to watch – go back at it tomorrow and hopefully play another round of good golf.”
Goecke said, “Timmy is a heck of a player. He never blinked once. I really had to keep my foot down on the pedal. Last night my dad told me, ‘Listen, you better keep showing up. You got some good players right behind you.’”
Goecke will attack the first four holes again Sunday. After that, he says, the course toughens up through the rest of the front nine. He calls No. 12 and the final three holes the meat of the golf course.
Goecke made his first bogey of the tournament Saturday on No. 14. He was 50 yards out after his tee shot and hit the ball over the green. From a difficult lie, he faced a 20-foot par putt and missed.
“When I made that bogey it just kind of fired me up a little bit,” Goecke said. “I let it drag on to the next hole because I missed a short one there.”
Goecke finished with three pars and a birdie on the par-3 17th with a 15-foot putt.
Goecke’s Wright State days came full circle Friday when he played with former head coach Conner Lash, who led after a first-round 66.
“For as little as he plays, for him to compete is cool to see,” Goecke said. “It’s good for his players to play against him, and make sure that they can still beat him. Because if you can’t beat your coach, he’s gonna say something to you.”
Goecke might get one up on former WSU teammate Mikkel Mathiesen, who won the past two Metros. Mathiesen last year and Josh Gilkison in 2017 set the tournament record of 18-under par.
Another good start for Goecke will give him every chance to put the Metro record into the 20s.
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