Minnetonka Leads Boys' Preview After Windy Opening Round; Waconia's Fischer Cards 69

By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org


  BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. – Amid blustery winds and traces of snow lingering on the golf course, the 2018 high school golf tournament season officially kicked off Friday with the boys’ Preview at Edinburgh USA.

Steadied by a pair of sophomores, Gunnar Broin’s round of even par 72 and David Morton’s 74, the Minnetonka Skippers grabbed the 18-hole lead by posting a team score of 300 to take a one-stroke lead over Waconia High School entering Saturday’s final round.

“Our guys played really well—it was a very tough day. Tough conditions and the wind was blowing but they handled themselves very well,” Minnetonka head coach Luke Elfner said after his team’s first round Friday. “They controlled their emotions, which was the biggest thing and I thought they played great.

“Gunnar played fantastic obviously shooting 72 and being right near the lead, but David Morton to come back and shoot 74 today was a really nice round. The rest our guys played well, but those two stood out. We had our first outdoor golf yesterday and I really wanted them to compete, control their emotions and to battle out there. I didn’t have a score in mind, but to shoot 300 is really nice.”

The Skippers, who claimed the Class AAA team title in 2016, also got contributions from senior Jacob Pedersen, who posted a 3-over par 75 Friday and by senior Joey Sigel’s round of 79.

Waconia has fallen to Minnetonka in each of the last two seasons as rivals in Section 2AAA, but thanks to junior John Fischer’s round of 3-under par 69 Friday, the Wildcats remain on the heels of the first-round leaders with 18 holes to play Saturday.

“I went back to my old putter and I putted better than I normally do and I was getting up-and-down when I missed the green,” Fischer said Friday. “I wanted to play well in this tournament this year. Last year I didn’t play that well, so I wanted to come back better.”

Starting on the 10th tee Friday, Fischer made a key up-and-down at the third hole after finding the sand with his tee shot and chunking his second before rolling in a 15-footer to save par. With wind gusts over 20 mph, Fischer hit 2-iron off the seventh tee and wedged his approach to 10 feet, rolling in birdie before finishing his day by chipping in for eagle at the par-5 ninth.

Waconia’s No. 1 player Connor Glynn (ranked No. 3 in the Minnesota Golf Association boys’ individual rankings) helped keep the pace for the Wildcats by posting a round of 2-over par 74, while sophomore Blake Schuler’s round of 78 helped the cause as well.

Caleb VanArragon, the state’s second-ranked boys’ golfer behind Blake’s Derek Hitcher, fired a 2-under par 70 after a tumultuous start Friday to sit one shot off Fischer’s lead.

VanArragon’s erratic play off the tee led to a pair of early double-bogeys, but he bounced back by string together four consecutive birdies starting at the eighth hole to jump to 1-under for the day.

Fortunate to make bogey at the 13th after losing a tee shot, VanArragon again rallied by rolling in a 10-footer for birdie on the ensuing hole to get back to 1-under before adding a final birdie at the 15th to post an opening round 70.

“It started off really rough but I’m happy with the way I stayed in it. I was not hitting the ball that great—I hit a lot of bad tee shots and lost three balls today,” VanArragon said Friday. “I told myself to stay in it, scramble and grind it out and stay in the moment.

“I was just trying to keep making birdies and go as low as I could. I was thinking there would be a lot of guys posting good scores today. The first five holes it was pretty calm, but I was not expecting the wind to pick up. I'm going to the range tonight to make sure I cut down on the balls lost. My putting really saved me today and I’ll work on that tomorrow to make sure that stays sharp.”

Chaska, yet another strong squad from Section 2AAA, posted a team score of 303 Friday and will enter Saturday’s final round three shots off the lead, while St. Thomas Academy sits seven shots back in fourth at 307.

The 2018 Preview concludes Saturday with final-round tee times beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Edinburgh USA.



2018 BOYS HIGH SCHOOL PREVIEW
EDINBURGH USA
BROOKLYN PARK, MINN.
6,383 YARDS, PAR 72


FRIDAY’S TEAM RESULTS
1. Minnetonka – 300
2. Waconia – 301
3. Chaska – 303
4. St. Thomas Academy – 307
5. Stillwater – 313
6. St. Michael-Albertville – 319
7. Elk River – 321
8. Edina – 323
T9. Alexandria – 328
T9. Moorhead – 328
11. Lakeville North – 329
12. Blake – 330
13. Chanhassen – 332
14. Detroit Lakes – 333
15. Holy Family – 335
T16. East Ridge – 337
T16. Wayzata – 337
18. Lakeville South – 340
19. Blaine – 341
20. White Bear Lake – 344
21. Eden Prairie – 345
22. Mankato East – 367


FRIDAY’S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. John Fischer, Waconia – 69
2. Caleb VanArragon, Blaine – 70
3. Muzzy Donohue, STA – 71
T4. Gunnar Broin, Minnetonka – 72
T4. Trey Fessler, STMA – 72
T4. Lincoln Johnson, Chaska – 72
T7. Connor Glynn, Waconia – 74
T7. David Morton, Minnetonka – 74
T9. Andrew Boemer, STA – 75
T9. Jacob Pedersen, Minnetonka – 75