4/24 Round Two - A huge concern for the Royals golfers heading into the prestigious Tri State Invitational was why they weren't staying in a motel in Hastings for the two day tournament. The question whether this was a show of mis-guided concern or a casual confidence heading into the biggest invitational of the year was answered today as Rogers blew away the best the three state area has to offer by posting a sixteen shot victory.
However, nothing came easy during the rain-soaked front nine of Saturday's final round. Colton Buege, starting only four back of first round leader Kyle Beversdorf of Wayzata, found himself five over par after five holes. A similar fate was finding Muenzhuber and Brinker as well. Funny thing was no one in their groups was finding the going any easier. It was a tough, tough day to get anything going.
One Rogers golfer was so against playing in the rain on Saturday, he was hoping thunderstorms would cancel the event. Fortunately his concern didn't match his resolve because Mac Buege started with a par, birdied the par five third before bogeying the difficult sixth for the second straight day, and finished the front nine even par for concecutive days. When the weather cleared the Royals got to work and extended their first day lead. Colton showed the maturity of a senior team captain and was one over par his last thirteen holes to finish at 78 and in fifth place. Rykal converted an impossible up and down par save on the par three fifteenth - this difficult pin placement produced a 45 minute wait on the tee - and Muenzhuber stuck his to four feet on the same hole and made par and finished in twentieth place.
The Royals concentration on team results proved successful as many other players were playing, and wasting, valuable shots which affected the team score. Mac continued his solid shotmaking and birdied the tenth to go to one under. What he didn't know was that a group ahead Beversdorf was struggling. Back to back bogeys on fourteen and fifteen would not hurt. A failed birdie conversion on sixteen followed by a par on the three shot seventeenth and he seemed to be cruising to the individual title. A tight tee shot on eighteen forced him to punch out from the trees. His pitch to the back plateau pin placement spun back and left him a lengthy par putt which came up five feet short. He ended up with a double bogey six and in a tie with Patrick Johnston of Orono at 145 and co-medalist.
The Royals should move up the state rankings - even though there isn't much room to go. They should become Rogers High School's first ever number one ranked team.
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4/23 Round One - In only their second trip to to the elite Tri State Invitational, the Royals posted an exceptional 298 to lead after Day One. Mac Buege shot a 2-under par 70 on beautiful, breezy spring day at the Hastings CC. Tomorrow's second round is forecast to be in stark contrast as rain and cooler temps are predicted and Colton Buege - 73, Derek Brinker - 77, Corey Muenzhuber 78, and Jordan Rykal - 87 try to hold off the challenges of the three-state regions best high school teams.
Tournament jitters either got most of the players early or wore down others, as in the case of Rykal. He was solid at the start but a couple of bad holes mid-round derailed his day. Hastings' slick greens penalize severely if your ball finds the wrong side of the hole and getting up-and-down can be tricky. Corey and Derek finished strong after each found some of that trouble early in the round. Colton and Mac both found the trees to the right of the first fairway and started with a bogey. Mac chipped in for eagle on the par five third while Colton got back to even with a birdie on seven before finishing the front nine bogey-bogey. Mac's last bogey of the day occurred when he missed the green on the difficult par three sixth. He finished with birdies on eleven and sixteen for a second place 70, one back of leader Kyle Beversdorf of Wayzata..
Colton hit his last nine greens in regulation and the putter that bailed him out a couple times on the front nine couldn't convert on a couple of key birdie opportunities on eleven and twelve. He stayed patient, however, and did get one back on the par five sixteenth. The first Rogers player tees it up at 9:40 as the the team finds itself in a familiar position at the top of the leaderboard.
Tri-State Invitational
At Hastings Country Club
Par 72, 6,350 yards
Hastings
First-round results
1. Rogers 298
T2. Edina 304
T2. Wayzata 304
T4. Elk River 311
T4. Lakeville North 311
6. Park (Cottage Grove) 314
T7. Fargo South 317
T7. Orono 317
T9. Moorhead 319
T9. Chaska 319
T11. Alexandria 320
T11. Eden Prairie 320
T11. Eastview 320
T14. Anoka 323
T14. Stillwater 323
T14. Rochester Lourdes 323
17. Forest Lake 324
18. Eau Claire Memorial 327
19. Detroit Lakes 330
20. White Bear Lake 332
21. Rosemount 340
22. Hastings 341
23. Fairmont 342
24. Hopkins 345
Individuals
1. Kyle Beversdorf, Wayzata 69
2. McCabe Buege, Rogers 70
3. Patrick Johnston, Orono 72
T4. Colton Buege, Rogers 73
T4. Max Kelly, Forest Lake 73
T6. Trevor Keys, Park 74
T6. Tyler Goss, Lakeville North 74
T6. Matt Jensen, Edina 74
T9. Karter Smith, Detroit Lakes 75
T9. Kit Bennett, Edina 75
T9. Jack Barnhart, Park 75
T9. John Butler, Elk River 75
T13. Devin Holmes, Anoka 76
T13. Ty Lowenstein, Wayzata 76
T13. Chris Sholts, Alexandria 76
T13. Alex Kline, Elk River 76
T13. Tony Companion, Eastview 76
T13. Tommy Koehler, Eden Prairie 76