Sigel, Minnetonka Are Water-Proof as They Sweep AAA Boys Titles

By Mike Fermoyle (mikefermoyle@gmail.com) 

COON RAPIDS -- It was almost as if Ben Sigel needed to spot the field two strokes in the Class AAA boys part of the Minnesota state high school tournament. That, in effect, was what he did Tuesday afternoon in the opening round at Bunker Hills Golf Course.

After starting off with three pars and a birdie at the 451-yard, par-5 fourth (No. 4 East), the player who has been the No. 1 in the MGA state rankings for the entire 2016 season blocked his tee shot at the par-4 fifth (No. 5 East) into the water hazard right of the fairway. He proceeded to do the same thing at the par-5 sixth. The bogeys he made on those two holes bumped him to 1 over par, but the Minnetonka junior got back to even with a birdie at the ninth. 

The rain that plagued play for both the AAA boys and girls was getting worse as Sigel made the turn. Nevertheless, he parred the next three holes and then, as it began to pour, he holed his second shot at the 340-yard, par-4 13th. He played one more hole before the rain forced a suspension of play, the 530-yard, par-5 14th, and he birdied it. 

Early on Wednesday morning, play was resumed, and the Minnetonka junior picked up where he left off, playing his four remaining holes in 2 under, with birdies at No. 16 (380 yards, par 4) and No. 18 (340, par 4). With that, he capped off a 5-under 31 on the back nine, and the resulting 67 (5 under) staked him to a six-stroke lead. Basically, the tournament was over, at least as far as the individual competition was concerned. 

"After he shot 67, I didn't think anyone was going to catch him," said Harrison Cooper. "I don't think anybody did. He's really solid."

Sigel was exactly that Wednesday afternoon in the second round, as he played a little more conservatively and shot 72. His 36-hole aggregate of 139 gave him a six-stroke victory, and it also tied the large-school tournament record set by Eden Prairie's Scott Gustafson in 2002.

Cooper, a Simley senior -- and Augsburg recruit -- who had a 76 in the first round, came back with a 69 to take second place at 145. He finished with a putting flourish, making a couple of 12-footers for pars at the 16th and 17th holes and then draining a 45-footer for birdie at the 18th. 

"From where I was on the right side of the green," he admitted, "I was just trying to two-putt, because I knew it was going to be fast once it got past the hole. But then it went in."

It's a sign of the times that most of the elite high school players hit their drives iin the neighborhood of 300 yards these days, and Cooper can hold his own off the tee. He had only pitching wedge second shot to the par-5 fourth Wednesday afternoon, and that set up an easy two-putt birdie. He also birdied the 370-yard, par-4 ninth.  

Finishing third was another senior, Scott Fudenberg of Sibley. He was the only other player besides Sigel to match par on Wednesday, and he ended up at 146. 

Chaska junior Clay Kucera put together a 73 and claimed fourth with a 147. He was just ahead of a group of five at 148: Ben Hauge (Anoka), Parker Anderson (Stillwater), Tanner Sperling (Lakeville South), Justin Tanquist (Chanhassen) and Trey Fessler (St. Michael-Albertville). 

At amateur tournaments, and especially at high school tournaments, there are no leaderboards on the course, and scoreboards are updated only at the end of the round. So almost everyone is in the dark about what everyoe else is doing. That's fine with Sigel. It helps him stayed focused on his own game.

The wind was blowing 10 to 15 miles per hour for the AAA boys in  Round 2, which made scoring difficult. What's more, Bunker Hills was wet, which meant that it played longer than it usually does. 

"That probably hurt me," Sigel said, "because I don't hit it quite as far as some of the other guys."

That comment notwithstanding, you'd probably have to say that Sigel hits it far enough (something like 280 or 285 yards), considering that he won all but two of the tournaments/matches he played in this spring. 

On Wednesday afternoon, he got off to a fast start, with birdies at the par-4 second hole and par-3 third, and also at the short, par-5 fourth -- for the second day in a row. At that point, he was 8 under for the tournament and all but completely out of sight of any potential challengers, all of whom were over par. The fifth and sixth holes are two of the easier holes on the front nine. You would have expected Sigel to birdie one or both of them. Instead, he bogeyed them both once again, although this time he kept his ball dry.

"I don't know what it is about those holes," he lamented afterward. 

It was a surprising lapse, but it didn't last long. The 200-yard, par-3 seventh and 430-yard, par-3 eighth are two of the toughest holes at Bunker, and Sigel, who has committed to Kansas as his college choice (he can't sign a National Letter of Intent until November), parred them both. He also parred the ninth and turned in 35. By then, everyone else was playing for second.

With Sigel leading the way, Minnetonka won the AAA team championship. The Skippers put up a pair of 297's for a two-day total of 594. Lakeville South was second at 607, and Edina was third with a 611.  

This was the second team title for Minnetonka.

"We won in 2007," John Coatta noted, "and if you look at the decade since then, you'll see that teams from the Lake Conference have won quite a few times." 

As a matter of fact, teams from the Lake -- Wayzata (4), Minnetonka (2), Eden Prairie (1) and Edina (1) -- have won eight times in the last 10 years.

"It just goes to show you," Coatta said, "how good the competition is in our conference is. After playing those teams for a couple of months, you're pretty well prepared to play against anybody."   


Minnesota State High School Tournament 

Class AAA

Boys

At Bunker Hills Golf Course

Par 72, 6,515 yards

Final results 

1. Minnetonka                     297-297--594

2. Lakeville                         303-304--607

3. Edina                              310-301--611

4. St. Thomas Academy     313-302--615

5. St. Michael-Albertville    309-312--621

T6. Moorhead                    321-311-632

T6. Elk River                      316-316--632

8. Cretin-Derham Hall        320-335--655

Individuals 

1. Ben Sigel, Minnetonka              67-72--139

2. Harrison Cooper, Simley           76-69--145

3. Scott Fudenberg, Sibley           74-72--146

4. Clay Kucera, Chaska               74-73--147

T5. Ben Hauge, Anoka                73-75--148

T5. Parker Anderson, Stillwater   77-71--148

T5. Tanner Sperling, Lake. So.    74-74--148

T5. Justin Tanquist, Chanhassen 75-73--148

T5. Trey Fessler, SMA                  73-75--148

T10. Scott Marston, White Bear   73-76--149

T10. Noah Rasinski, Lake. So.     73-76--149

T10. Matt Wahl, Hopkins              73-76--149

T10. Muzzy Donohue, St. Thomas 75-74--149