Smith Sets Record as Co-Champion with Heck; Detroit Lakes Girls Back on Top of Class AA

By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


  JORDAN, Minn. – As the saying goes, if you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you. Earning a share of the state individual title with Anni Heck Wednesday after her final putt trickled over the front edge of the cup, Detroit Lakes senior Kate Smith firmly cemented her legacy as the best high school golfer in Minnesota history as the only player with five individual victories.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night—I was nervous,” Smith admitted, perhaps for the first time, “Anni is a great player and knowing that she was hunting me down was pretty stressful. I love this course and I can score on this course, but there was a lot of pressure.

“A couple of putts didn’t drop when they should’ve today and coming down knowing how close it was—it was nerve-wracking at best,” she said.

Thanks to Smith, along with junior Abby Schramel, the Lakers carded a final-round team score of 321 to earn a nine-stroke victory over Lake City for a fourth title in the last five years.

Smith, who’s committed to play college golf at the University of Nebraska this fall, played a steady front nine Wednesday with six consecutive pars before reaching the par-5 seventh in two.

Her eagle putt stayed right of the cup, but she would tap-in for birdie to move to 4-under for the championship. Taking advantage of her next par-5, Smith again reached the green in two at the 11th and two-putted for birdie to move to 5-under.

A bogey at the long par-4 13th moved Smith back to 4-under for the tournament but she would rebound by sticking her approach inside of five feet at the par-5 16th, converting birdie to return to 5-under.

With Heck already in at 139 as Smith made her way up the 18th fairway, she needed just a par to earn a share of medalist honors, while a birdie would’ve given her the outright victory.

Playing surprisingly cautious, Smith left her approach on the front edge of the heavily sloped, two-tiered final green. As Smith’s lag putt stopped well short of the cup, the first signs of uneasiness and doubt grew within the gallery surrounding the 18th green.

The final putt of her storied high school career tucked barely inside the right edge as an emotional Smith crouched, hands on her head as a champion for the fifth consecutive year.

“I don’t think that was me getting that putt in the hole,” Smith said of her final par putt. “There were some people up there that got it in for me.”

“She had angel on her shoulder,” her father, Kris, added from a few steps away.

“I wanted this one really badly—everyone asks me about it, everyone was talking about it; now I can just live my life,” Smith joked while still fighting back tears.

Smith made her first appearance at the state tournament as a seventh-grader and finished tied for 5th before earning her first title in 2012. In 2013 she shared medalist honors with teammate Natalie Roth and then with friend and current Minnesota Gopher, Maggie Heggerston, in 2014. A final-round 69 a year ago gave Smith a two-stroke victory for her fourth win.

While she’ll be remembered more for her individual accomplishments, Smith was a part of four championship teams during her six years playing varsity golf on a dominant Detroit Lakes team that won three consecutive titles from 2012-2014.

Smith was the first recipient of the Ms. Golf award Sunday in a ceremony at Windsong Farm.

“I use the word tenacious a lot with this team,” Detroit Lakes coach Cali Harrier said Wednesday. “We knew at the turn that we needed a fourth score and we turned our attention to our [No. 4, 5 and 6 players] and walked with them and said we needed someone to step up. We were able to do that and grinded it out.”

An emotional Harrier waited just off the final green as the first to greet Smith following the round Wednesday.

“It’s the end of that era, those six years with Kate,” she said. “She’s a great person, fun to watch because she knows the game so well. But she’s so much more than that—it’s going to be tough not having her there.”

Heck’s first individual title, thanks to her remarkable final-round 68 Wednesday, was overshadowed by the magnitude surrounding Smith’s historical victory Wednesday.

But quietly making her fifth state tournament appearance as a junior, which she’s never finished worse than seventh, Heck put together two of the best rounds of her career. In 10 rounds at Ridges at Sand Creek, Heck had yet to break par prior to Tuesday’s opening-round 71.

“I was hoping to go low today and I left a couple out there, but it was a good day,” Heck said. “The birdie at 17 was unexpected, I was putting from off the green and it went it and that really got me going.

“I was pretty nervous because I’ve never been this low consistently. I didn’t want to know the score, I just wanted to focus on my game and keep the round going without my nerves giving me a mistake,” she said.

Starting on the back nine for the second consecutive day, Heck began with back-to-back birdies at the 10th and 11th holes to jump to 3-under for the tournament before taking bogey at the 13th.

Finishing her front nine with a pair of birdies, Heck moved to 4-under and into a share of the lead with nine holes to play. Heck would birdie the fourth but gave back a stroke at the fifth to remain at 4-under.

Taking advantage of her final par-5, Heck rolled in a final birdie and would finish the final round at 68.

“It feels good, it’s a little bit surreal,” she said. “I feel like my game right now is so strong, it speaks for itself in a way. I feel like I beat this course in a way because it’s been a challenge.”



2016 MINNESOTA STATE GIRLS’ CLASS AA CHAMPIONSHIP
RIDGES AT SAND CREEK
JORDAN, MINN.
5,486 YARDS, PAR 72


FINAL TEAM RESULTS
1. Detroit Lakes, 312-321—633
2. Lake City, 322-320—642
3. Breck, 339-336—675
4. St. Cloud Cathedral, 356-363—719
5. Minnewaska, 354-366—720
6. International Falls, 350-383—733
7. Jordan, 383-376—759
8. Visitation, 387-377—764


FINAL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T1. Kate Smith, Detroit Lakes, 69-70—139
T1. Anni Heck, Visitation, 71-68—139
3. Alayna Eldred, Osakis, 74-72—146
4. Alex Stone, Pequot Lakes, 78-72—150
5. Emily Schimbeno, Lake City, 75-81—156
T6. Abby Schramel, Detroit Lakes, 77-81—158
T6. Ally Tiedeman, Crookston, 83-75—158
8. Grace Zumwinkle, Breck, 84-76—160
9. Lidia Wallerich, Lake City, 86-76—162
T10. Olivia Johnson, Hill-Murray, 84-79—163
T10. Lexi Geolat, Lake City, 84-79—163


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