REGIONAL- Three golfers from area schools competed in the Class A State Golf Tournament at Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker on Tuesday, June 13 and Wednesday, June 14, with all finishing in the top half of their respective fields.
On the girls side, North Woods’ Tori Olson and Ely’s Abby Koivisto both completed the 36-hole event in 185 strokes, 41 strokes over par, tying for 22nd with three other players. When tie-breakers were applied, Olson topped the group and remained at 22nd, while Koivisto slotted in at 25th.
After opening with a par, regulation was elusive for Olson on the front nine as she tallied seven bogeys and a double. She carded her first birdie of the event to open the second nine, but that magic slipped away as quickly as it came, and she finished the first round with a 91.
The front nine was even more of a puzzle for Olson on day two, finishing with a 51. She regained her composure on the back side, striking three pars and a birdie to finish with her best nine of the tourney, a 43, and an 18-hole total of 94.
Koivisto was four over through six in her opening round, but the next 11 holes were feast or famine for the Ely ace, as she recorded three triple bogeys and four bogeys against four pars and finished out with a 94.
Koivisto cut way down on the major miscues in the second round, scoring a birdie on the third hole and playing the front nine in 41, just five over par. The back nine was not so kind, as Koivisto tallied a double, triple, and quadruple bogey in a nine that featured only one par, finishing with a 50 and a 91 for the round.
On the boys’ side, North Woods’ senior Eli Smith tied for 43rd in a field of 86 and held that position after the tie-breaker. He shot 167 for the tournament.
Smith’s performance on the first day was relatively consistent, as he shot 43 on both the front and back nines for an 86, 14 over par. The highlight of the day was a birdie on the par-4 15th hole.
Save for a triple bogey to open play on day two, Smith was more zoned in for the second round. With birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, he was just two over after seven holes, but finished the nine bogey-double-bogey for a 41. After another double on the tenth hole, Smith regained his composure and finished out with six pars against two bogeys for a four-over 40 and an 18-hole total of 81, a five stroke improvement.