On Monday, May 10th, the Ste. Genevieve Dragons Varsity Golf team competed in the District Tournament. The Dragons had an excellent outing as a team, placing third overall out of 15 teams, with a combined team score of 367.
Three of the five Dragons that competed shot well enough to advance to the State Tournament. Luke Basler was the first of those three, shooting an 85, which qualified him to move on to the next round. Head Coach Ryan Mueller was excited, and noted, “Everything was clicking for Luke today, his long game, mid game and his short game. He would have had an even better score if he didn’t go out of bounds on his final hole, giving him his first double bogey of the day. Luke was extremely consistent and was able to manage several pars and bogeys putting him an overall 13 over par. This is the first time Luke has qualified for the State Tournament!”
Bryce Barley was the next golfer to make the cut. He ended up shooting a 91, good enough to move him on as well. Mueller was impressed with his play, and said, “Barley started off fantastic, but his last couple holes are what put him in the 90’s. On hole seven he ended up in the water and ended up getting a seven on a par three. He was in a great mindset throughout the entire tournament. This is Bryce’s first time going to the State Tournament as well.”
Barley knows he has room for improvement, and said, “This week is going to consist a lot of short game drills. I am going to be really working on making sure I’m hitting greens from 150 yards and in. Crown is a hard course on how fast the greens are so I gotta make sure I’m two putting from a 20 yard radius and in.”
Also moving on to State is Grant Weiler, who came in with a 95. Mueller was complimentary of his player, and mentioned, “Weiler had a calm, cool, collected attitude the entire day until his second to last hole when going into the water. He was able to fight for every stroke, which got him qualified for the State Tournament by one stroke. He had an extremely consistent day, and will be determined to break into the 80’s at the State tournament.”
Unfortunately, Landon Rose didn’t have the day he was hoping for, and missed qualifying for the next round by one stroke, coming in with a 96. Mueller knows he was disappointed, and said, “His driver was his worst enemy today. Once he put the driver away, Landon was able to come back with a vengeance and start improving his score. He had a good mid range game today which helped him overcome his long game. He also had some great putts to save par or bogey. This was the last high school tournament for Landon, but he is ecstatic to play golf for Mineral Area College next year.”
Kellen Hogenmilller also did not make the cut, and came in with a score of 105. Mueller was sad for his player, but sees the potential, and commented, “Hogenmiller didn’t get the score he was hoping for. When Kellen slowed his game down, his driver was excellent and so was his mid range. He struggled mostly with chipping. Kellen is a Junior and expects to come back next year to make his run for the State Tournament.”
As the season comes to a close for a few Dragons, the grind continues for three. Mueller and his crew will continue to practice and hone their skills to prepare to play on the biggest stage, the State Tournament.
