Birdwell's 66 Leads the Boys in AAA

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COON RAPIDS -- Jake Birdwell was one of the golfers the Minnesota State High School League said it was going to suspend for playing in non-school tournaments this winter. That would have prevented Birdwell from playing in sectional and state tournaments. But it wasn't long before the MSHSL reversed itself and lifted the suspensions.

Now that he's been allowed back into the high school post-season, Birdwell is making his presence felt. On Tuesday, in the Class AAA portion of the 2023 state high school tournament, the long-hitting Spring Lake Park junior went right to the top of the individaul standings, as he birdied five of the last seven holes on the front (East) nine at Bunker Hills GC. He added two more on the back nine before making his only bogey of the round at the 400-yard, par-4 16th. The result was a 6-under-par 66, and he leads by two shots going into Wednesday's final round.

Last year, Birdwell tied for 14th in AAA with 149 (73-76) Joe Honsa, who tied for seventh (73-73--146), is alone in second after a 68.The Cretin-Derham Hall sophomore is coming off a strong showing last weekend at the Tapemark Minnesota PGA Pro-Am, where he won the Amateur Division with a 65-70--135. He ended up fifth overall  in a field that included most of the best club pros in the state, and as a matter of fact, three of the four guys who finished ahead of Honsa were mini-tour pros.   

Honsa is tall (6-4 or 6-5), has a huge arc, massive club head speed and has no problem hitting his driver over 300 yards. But he neglected to birdie the first par 5 he played Tuesday, the 540-yard 11th (Birdwell didn't birdie it, either). He did birdie the  par-5 14th, but bogeyed the par-4 15th. He got under par once again with a birdie at the 390-yard, par-4 18th. On the front (East) nine, he didn't take advantage of the shortest par 5 at Bunker, No. 4 (486 yards), but he birdied the par-3 third, and the other par 5 on the front (West) nine, the 535-yard sixth, plus the long, par-3 seventh (220 yards). Honsa gave one back at the 450-yard, par-4 eighth but bounced back with a birdie at the par-4 ninth. 

Another player in this field who played well against the local pros this spring is Ryan Stendahl. The 5-7, 135-pound Maple Grove junior, who hits his driver nearly 300 yards in spite of his size, was a first-round co-leader in the Twin Cities Open at Edina Country Club, thanks to a first-round 68, and he ended up solo fifth at 139, just one shot out of a tie for second. On Tuesday, he shot 69 and is tied for third with Jack Hanson of Eastview. Stendahl made two birdies and no bogeys on the front nine. A fifth-place finisher last year (71-73--144), he bogeyed the 10th, but birdied the 12th and 13 holes.

Stendahl showed his resilience once again at the conclusion of his round. After a bogey at the 220-yard, par-3 17th, he birdied the 18th and signed for a 69.

He's tied for third with Jack Hanson, a senior at Eastview. His card was clean for 15 holes, as he went through the back nine with eight pars and a birdie at the par-5 14th. He added two more birdies at the par-4 second and par-5 sixth before suffereing his only bogey of the day, at the seven\th. But he bounced back with a birdie at the long, par-3 eighth. 

Hanson's Lightning teammate Joey Rohlwing was named Mr. Minnesota Golf on Sunday, and Rohlwing is only two shots behind Hanson, at 71, tied with Elk River's Logan Chouinard for fifth. With two players in the top five, Eastview should be doing well in the team competition, and it is. The Lightning are in first place at 297, one ahead of defending champion Edina. 


Minnesota State High School Golf Championships

At Bunker Hills Golf Course

Class AAA Boys

Par 72, 6,991 yards

1. Jake Birdwell, jr., Spring Lake Park          66

2. Joe Honsa, soph., Cretin-Derham            68

T3. Ryan Stendahl, jr., Maple Grove.           69

T3. Jack Hanson, sr., Eastview                    69

T5. Joey Rohlwing, sr., Eastview.                71

T5. Logan Chouinard, sr., Elk River            71

7. Torger Ohe, soph., Edina                        72

T8. Miles Bollinger, jr., Cretin-Derham       73

T8. Landon Miller, soph., St. Louis Park    73

T8. Jacob Wilson, soph., Mahtomedi        73

T8. Kyler Schwamb, sr., Farmington         73

T12. Zach Rouleau, sr., Farmington.         74

T12. Sam Udovich, so., Cretin Derham     74

T12. Easton Fiddle, 7th, White Bear Lake 74

T12. Carter Spalding  jr., Woodbury           74

T12. Tim sexton, soph., Rochester Mayo   74

T12. Michael Johnson, jr., Eagan               74

T12. Andrew Swanson, jr., Chisago Lakes 74

T12. Carver Larson, soph., Alexandria       74 

Teams

1. Eastview.                  297

2. Edina                        298

3. Alexandria                306

4. Mahtomedi               309

5. Maple Grove            311

T6. Minnetonka.           315

T6. Rochester Mayo    315

8. Anoka.                      329