Free State junior Will Cook watches his tee shot during the Lawrence Invitational on Wednesday at Eagle Bend. Cook shot a 74, tying for fourth place.

Competing in a golf tournament for the first time in more than a month, expectations were low when Free State junior Tate Steele teed off Wednesday at Eagle Bend.

Steele played in the team’s first tournament of the year, then was forced to sit out with back spasms, an injury he suffered during the wrestling season.

But in his return, Steele looked as good as ever. He shot a 74, placing fourth at the Lawrence Invitational. Junior teammate Will Cook carded another 74, leading the Firebirds to second place in the team standings with 305 strokes.

During Steele’s round, his first since April 3, he didn’t have any spectacular chip-ins or standout drives — “kind of boring,” he said — with 16 pars and two bogeys.

“I wasn’t even hitting the ball very well, but I was just consistent,” said Steele, who noted he had a good day of putting.

Steele’s teammates and coaches weren’t surprised by his success. A state champion wrestler in 2016, they knew his competitiveness would shine in his return.

“Honestly, knowing Tate, no that’s not surprising for him to shoot that,” Cook said.

Free State coach Chuck Law added: “He’s just a competitor. I knew he’d will his way through it one way or another, but to shoot 74 is fantastic.”

Cook made a birdie on his first hole, No. 9, after missing an eagle putt, but thought an early rain delay was going to stop all of his momentum.

Instead, his approach shots were solid, setting himself up on the green for easy putts. His 74 was the lowest score of his high school career.

“As a coach, you’d like to say he can do it every time out, but he’s capable,” Law said. “He’s just hard on himself sometimes. Today he put a complete round together. When he does, he’s capable of playing with the top 10 or 15 players in the state.”

Steele, Cook, Landon Berquist (78, 20th place) and Dylan Sommer (79, 22nd place) carried the team to its second runner-up tournament finish in the past week.

The Lawrence Invitational served as the third and final leg of the Sunflower League Tournament, and the Firebirds took fifth place as a team. Senior Jack Junge was 11th individually.

Brungardt brothers lead LHS

It wasn’t a perfect round Wednesday for Lawrence High sophomore Ross Brungardt, but he was hoping his coach Dirk Wedd would celebrate with a cartwheel.

Brungardt shot a 77, his lowest score of the season. But perhaps just as important, he tied his older brother, Cole, who finished 10th in the league standings.

“I always want to beat my brother, but he’s pretty darn good,” Ross Brungardt said. “My coach said that if I beat my brother, he’d do a cartwheel. But we tied, so he said he’s not going to do a cartwheel.”

Cole Brungardt, who said his younger brother has never beaten him, wasn’t satisfied with his round but had an unexpected lift from his putter. It helped him fight back from a slow start following the rain delay.

Plus, his strong finish secured a 10th-place finish in the league’s individual standings, matching his performance from last year.

“I’m a kicker, not a golfer,” said Cole Brungardt, who has signed to play football at Kansas. “So I’m happy with my top-10 finish.”

The Lions finished seventh as a team in Wednesday’s tournament. Garrett Wildeman added an 84 and Thomas Taber shot an 88.

Lawrence Invitational

Wednesday at Eagle Bend

Team scores: Olathe Northwest 300, Free State 305, Olathe East 306, SM East 307, SM South 313, SM Northwest 315, Lawrence 326, Olathe South 330, SM West 347, Leavenworth 362, SM North 459.

Medalists: 1. Christian Ghilardi, SMNW, 71; 2. Jace Kline, ONW, 73; 3. Daniel Gutgesell, OE, 73; 4. Tate Steele, FS, 74; 5. Adam Davis, ONW, 74; 6. Will Cook, FS, 74; 7. Jackson Wexler, ONW, 74; 8. Joe Bultman, SMNW, 74; 9. Jake Acosta, SMS, 75; 10. Will Harding, SME, 76.

FSHS results: 4. Tate Steele, 74; 6. Will Cook, 74; 20. Landon Berquist, 78; 22. Dylan Sommer, 79; 31. Jack Junge, 82; 40. Justin Siler, 87.

LHS results: 15. Cole Brungardt, 77; 15. Ross Brungardt, 77; 36. Garrett Wildeman, 84; 43. Thomas Taber, 88; 56. Joe Mondigo, 98; 61. Davis Reed, 107.

Sunflower League Final Standings

(Three 18-hole rounds)

Team scores: SM East 924, Olathe East 940, Olathe Northwest 950; SM Northwest 978, Free State 979, SM South 999, Lawrence 1025, Olathe South 1070, SM West 1130, Leavenworth 1188, SM North 1395.

Medalists: Christian Ghilardi, SMNW, 217; 2. Joe Bultman, SMNW, 223; 3. Thomas Luger, SME, 223; 4. Daniel Gutgesell, OE, 227; 5. David Gutgesell, OE, 230; 6. Will Harding, SME, 232; 7. Jackson Wexler, ONW, 234; 8. Owen Hill, SME, 236; 9. Jackson Likes, OS, 237; 10. Cole Brungardt, LHS, 237.

FSHS results: 11. Jack Junge, 241; 14. Will Cook, 246; 17. Landon Berquist, 248; 25. Dylan Sommer, 258; 31. Justin Siler, 273.

LHS results: 10. Cole Brungardt, 237; 22. Garrett Wildeman, 254; 24. Ross Brungardt, 257; 34. Thomas Taber, 277; 39. Joe Mondigo, 298.