Rain Hampers First Round of Class AA Tournament But Smith and Detroit Lakes Lead Early

By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


  JORDAN, Minn. – The opening round of the 2016 Minnesota State Class AA golf tournament presented challenges for golfers and tournament officials alike as play was suspended twice due to inclement weather Tuesday at Ridges at Sand Creek.

Play was initially halted with the entire girls’ field on the course shortly before 11 a.m. and was delayed for more than two hours and 20 minutes. When play resumed, four-time individual champion Kate Smith found herself in familiar territory after carding a 3-under par 69 to lead individually and help give Detroit Lakes a big 10-stroke lead over Lake City.

"I birdied the first hole which took the pressure off a little bit,” Smith said following her round Tuesday. “I was feeling really good at the turn and then we had the rain delay, which took away my birdie chance at [No. 10]. It’s typically a birdie hole and the delay scratched that, but I made the long putt at 11 and got rolling again. 

“I hit the ball really well and my putts were going where I wanted them to—they didn’t always drop, but they went where I was aiming so that’s usually a good thing and I drove the ball pretty well. There were a lot of opportunities out there, but I’m happy with how I played today.”

Taking advantage of the par-5’s while the weather was cooperative, Smith rolled her birdie chance at the first hole before sinking her birdie chance at the 420-yard seventh and would turn at 2-under as the skies opened and players were pulled from the course.

Following the delay Smith dropped a big 30-foot birdie at the par-3 11th to move to 3-under before narrowly missing her par putt at the long par-4 13th. Smith answered by sticking her approach at the par-3 15th to inside 10 feet and converted birdie to again move to 3-under before carding par on the final three holes to take the early lead at 69.

With lofty expectations surrounding Smith’s attempt to become the state’s first five-time champion, Smith admittedly stumbled under pressure to begin the season this spring.

“It started out rough for me—there was two articles written about state before the season even started so I don’t think I was focusing on the season and I was thinking about—what everyone else is thinking about,” Smith joked following her round Tuesday. “I started to have more fun and tried to put less pressure on myself.

“Our team is kind of a wildcard but we started playing better and they work really hard. They’re a great team.”

Detroit Lakes head coach Cali Harrier has her team in position to win its fourth state title in five years as the Lakers’ were one of the most dominant high school teams in any class, breaking state scoring records back-to-back seasons.

Still, Harrier has a hard time drawing comparisons to previous Detroit Lakes teams.

“They’ve been compared so much to teams I’ve had in the past,” she said. “It’s a different style and the mental game and focus is different. There’s a lot more comedy out on the course with this team but they showed how tough they are today.

“We setup the schedule to start aggressive—I wanted to see Red Wing, I wanted to see Edina and it made the girls see what’s out there and what they’re up against and then we headed back up north to play the teams were more familiar with,” Harrier said. “They’ve been working really hard and all season we’ve talked about how this is where we want to be.

“Coming off the rain delay was huge for us and that’s where we made up strokes. I’m thrilled with Kate’s round and the way Abby [Schramel] stepped up; Lauren Tschider has been steady and improving each week and to have Maddie shoot 44 on the front and come back with a 40 on the back was huge. I’m proud of the eighth-graders and the experience they’re getting.”

A total of six groups of individual players were unable to complete the girls' first round Tuesday, while the first groups of the boys’ team competition were unable to complete nine holes when horns stopped play for the day shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Visitation junior Anni Heck trails Smith by two shots after Heck carded a 1-under par 71 Tuesday and currently sits alone in second place.

“Today went pretty well, I was hitting my irons really well,” Heck said following her round Tuesday. “I hit my approach shots good and didn’t miss too far off and made a couple of good chips to keep me in it. I reached a couple of the par-5’s in two, which is a lot better than last year, so it’s exciting that my distance is improving.”

Playing in her fifth Class AA state tournament, Heck said her goal for the week was to shoot below par for first time in her career.

“To be able to do that today was a great feeling. I want to do the same thing tomorrow—keep it steady, not thinking ahead too much and thinking about the shot as it comes.

“My swing has been really consistent lately—I’m seeing better scores and even seen my putts come down a little bit,” Heck said of her junior season. “As a team we had one player jump from [junior varsity] to varsity and is our No. 3 now. We’re getting better all around down to JV, which is great because last year we struggled quite a lot.”

Beginning her round on the back nine Tuesday, Heck rolled four consecutive pars before failing to get up-and-down for par at the par-4 14th hole. She would answer by rolling in her birdie chance at the 15th and would turn at 1-under after reaching the 18th green in two and two-putting for her second birdie.

She would move to 2-under for the round after sinking her birdie opportunity at the fourth, but would finish the round at 1-under 71 after taking a bogey at the par-5 seventh.

Heck is hoping to improve on a sixth-place finish from a year ago when she shot a pair of 76's as a sophomore. Her best finish came during her freshman season when she carded a 5-over par 149 to finish fourth. As an eighth-grader Heck finished tied for sixth during a weather shortened championship and took sixth in her first appearance as a seventh-grader.

The first round of the 2016 MSHSL Class AA Championship is scheduled to resume at 7 a.m. Wednesday with the girls completing the first round followed shortly thereafter by the boys. Tournament officials are hopeful a 36-hole championship remains a possibility.



2016 MSHSL GIRLS’ CLASS AA GOLF TOURNAMENT
RIDGES AT SAND CREEK
JORDAN, MINN.
5,486 YARDS, PAR 72


TUESDAY’S TEAM RESULTS
1. Detroit Lakes—312
2. Lake City—322
3. Breck—339
4. International Falls—350
5. Minnewaska—354
6. St. Cloud Cathedral—356
7. Jordan—383
8. Visitation—387


TUESDAY'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Kate Smith, Detroit Lakes, 34-35—69
2. Anni Heck, Visitation, 36-35—71
3. Alayna Eldred, Osakis, 36-38—74
4. Emily Schimbeno, Lake City, 35-40—75
5. Abby Schramel, Detroit Lakes, 40-37—77
6. Alex Stone, Pequot Lakes, 39-39—78
7. Amelia Simonds, Breck, 41-38—79
8. Olivia Klefsaas, Staples-Motley, 41-39—80
T9. Raelyn Spears, Providence Academy, 39-42—81
T9. Ava Wallerich, Lake City, 40-41—81


For complete tournament results go to: www.mshsl.org/mshsl/golfscores.asp?gender=Girls&class=AA