Obergoenner, Driskell will team up again at SIU

Six Flags can be a thrilling place -- even when you're not on The Boss.

Blake Driskell can attest to that fact. He recalls clearly the day of May 12, when he was standing in line waiting for the thrill of riding The Boss. Another burst of excitement came out of the blue when he received a call from his good friend, Todd Obergoenner.

"He called me teammate," Driskell said.

There had been some plans in the works, and Driskell immediately knew the label had more meaning than a reference to the past, when the two played golf together at Central High School. It was a reference to the future.

Driskell, an all-state golfer who recently graduated, had just signed a letter of intent to play golf at Southern Illinois-Carbondale. And yes, Obergoenner, a two-time all-state player who had spent the last two years as member of the University of Kentucky golf team, was going to join him.

"I couldn't have been more excited, to be honest with you," Driskell said. "We've been really good friends since the time we started playing together."

That would date back four years to when Driskell was an eighth-grader and Obergoenner was a sophomore. The two have forged a friendship through both recreational and tournament play.

"I can't wait," Obergoenner said Thursday after playing a practice round for a weekend tournament with his past and future teammate. "I think he was pretty excited when I told him I was interested [in transferring to SIU]. I think we're both pretty excited."

Obergoenner graduated from Central in 2004 after finishing fifth at the Class 4 state tournament as a junior and 11th as a senior. He was the top golfer in Southeast Missouri, earning medalist at the SEMO Conference tournament his senior year and district medalist his final two seasons.

"Everybody expected Todd to come in with the low score and I had no pressure at all," Driskell said. "It took a little adjusting when he left. He was our leader. He's always been the guy I looked up to."

Obergoenner's high school and junior golf success led him to Kentucky, a perennial top 25 team.

While Obergoenner found himself in the company of the likes of All-American J.B. Holmes -- a winner this year on the PGA Tour -- at Kentucky, the freshman found the lineup hard to crack. Obergoenner was redshirted his first year, and he saw no tournament action this season.

"Being around a top 25 team, you definitely are going to learn some things -- numerous things with the short game and different types of shots," Obergoenner said.

Obergoenner said his short game, always his strength, improved during his time at Kentucky. It was his swing that deserted him.

"Swingwise, the coach's philosophy didn't work with me," he said. "That's one of the reasons I decided to leave."

Added Driskell: "Every time something went wrong, I was one of the first to hear about it. It's not fun to tell people golf stories when they don't have a clue [about golf]. I knew he wasn't enjoying himself as much as he thought he might."

A return to Cape allowed Obergoenner to rejoin his old golf coach, Steve Heckel, at Crab Orchard Golf Club in Carterville, Ill., which is just outside Carbondale.

"I worked with him the last two years of high school and had some really good success," Obergoenner said. "Going over to Kentucky, I didn't get to see him as much and just slowly drifted away. And I didn't play as well."

Obergoenner has been working with Heckel, who is also Driskell's coach, since returning and already is seeing positive results. He shot 70 in a tournament two weeks ago in southern Illinois.

"Those kind of things give me glimpses of hope," he said. "It's still in me. I've just got to work for it."

He plans to devote his summer to improving for the fall season at SIU under coach Leroy Newton.

Obergoenner will have three years of eligibility remaining, while Driskell has four.

Central coach Dick Wadlington thinks Newton will have quite a cornerstone for the coming years.

"I've been doing this a long time, and they are two of the best golfers I've seen in Southeast Missouri," Wadlington said.

The reunited teammates are now mapping new plans.

"We want to win in our time together," said Driskell. "We want to win the Missouri Valley Conference so we can go to regionals. Kentucky would be one of the teams in the regional. It's going to be awesome."

Jeff Breer is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian. His golf column appears every other Friday.