We are part of The Trust Project.
COLD SPRING – The Section 8-3A girls golf championship had a dramatic finish to its second day on Wednesday.
After Alexandria ran away with the team championship with a two-day score of 649, the Lakers were looking to get a third individual to state.
After senior McKenna Mallow and sophomore Hanna Knoop already claimed two of the five individual spots, sophomore Laura Syltie went head-to-head with Brainerd’s Izzy Olson in five sudden-death playoff holes. Olson got the better of Syltie to punch her ticket to the Bunker Hills.
This wasn’t the first time Syltie was in a playoff scenario at sections. Last spring, she beat her teammate, Knoop, to go to state. Both Detroit Lakes golfers were tied with scores of 165 after two days.
The Lakers were within striking distance after the first round on Tuesday. Surprisingly, they weren’t chasing Alexandria–the defending state champions. Instead, it was Brainerd with the seven-stroke advantage over both the Lakers and the Cardinals.
ADVERTISEMENT
On Wednesday, Alexandria found a new sense of urgency, beating Brainerd and Detroit Lakes by 22 strokes for the round. The Cardinals were 14 shots ahead of the Warriors and 21 ahead of the Lakers after two days.
Hannah Boraas’s impressive day-two performance was enough to win an individual section championship by two strokes. She was seven shots better than Brainerd’s Katie Foley and nine shots better than Detroit Lakes’ McKenna Mallow on Wednesday. Both Mallow and Foley tied for second with scores of 158.
Mallow was four-over-par after her first 18 holes. She made birdies on Nos. 3, 17 and 18 and finished even par on the back nine. On day two, Mallow birdied Nos. 3 and 4 on her way to an 11-over-par finish.
Knoop bounced back after struggling on day one to clinch a spot at state. On day two, she notched the Lakers’ low round with a four-over-par finish. She made a birdie on No. 2 and converted 12 pars to keep her in the top five with a two-day score of 164.
Syltie’s best day came on Tuesday. She made three birdies to finish seven-over-par and three strokes behind Mallow for the lead. She birdied Nos. 1, 14 and 16 to land herself in third place. She birdied No. 2 on Wednesday but finished 14-over-par before falling in a playoff.
Freshman Sydney Miller recorded a two-day score of 185, which was tied for 24th place. Eighth-grader Tatum Gatheridge (187) and seventh-grader Mya Boeke (203) finished 29th and 42nd, respectively.
