Bemidji golfer Dale finishes 23rd at state golf tournament

Trey Dale capped his junior golf season Wednesday by finishing 23rd at the state Class 3A tournament with rounds of 77-75-152 at Bunker Hills.

“I didn’t expect to place this high,” Dale said. “Tuesday I wasted some birdie opportunities and Wednesday I had a few bad holes but I did have five birdies and that is a good day for me. It was fun out there and playing at the state meet was a great experience.”

Max Kelly of Forest Lake is the state champion as the sophomore shot 70-73-143 over the two days. During Wednesday’s round the golfers were greeted by a steady rain that lingered for nine holes. While making things uncomfortable for the athletes, the rain actually made the course easier from a shot-making standpoint.

“On Tuesday the greens were dry and everything was running past the pins,” Dale said. “But on Wednesday you could shoot directly at the pins because the ball wasn’t going to run.

“And I like going for the flags.”

“Trey struck the ball well and when he was on with his shots, he was on,” said Lumberjacks coach Seth Knudson, referring to Dale’s five birdies. “He had a couple of double-bogeys that he would have liked to have back but overall this was a great way for Trey to finish the golf season.

“It took a few minutes for Trey to smile after his round but when he realized he finished 23rd overall he was happy.”

“We ended the spring on a positive note,” Dale added. “Being in the top 25 out of 88 golfers is pretty good.”

In the Class 3A girls division Meg Phelps of Bemidji shot an 87 Wednesday and finished her state-tournament experience with a 177.

Tuesday the senior shot 45-45-90 and she followed that with Wednesday’s 41-46-87.

“Meg was happy with her 87 and the 177,” said BHS coach Jeff Nelson. “She had a couple of 3-putts and a few errant shots on Wednesday but overall she played well. Many times she was able to get up and down and she even had a chip-in birdie.”

While the boys played in rain during Wednesday’s morning action the conditions were much better for the girls.

A light drizzle greeted Phelps at the start of her round but after only a few holes the sky cleared.

“There were good scoring conditions for the girls,” Nelson said. “The greens were soft and held shots because of the morning rain and there was no wind. It was a day you could score.”

Cody Wind of Cass Lake-Bena shot 38-40-78 in the first round of the Class A boys tournament at Pebble Creek in Becker and is in 10th place heading into today’s final 18 holes.

Aaron Forgaard of Faribault BA and Sam Eisenhuth of BEST shared the first-day medalist honor as they carded 73s. Wind and Cordell Weber of Martin County West posted 78s.

Teammate Randahl Johnson is tied for 53rd after shooting 45-44-89 Wednesday. Corey Beaulieu of Red Lake shot 48-47-95 and is tied for 68th and Nick Liapis of Blackduck finished the first round in 77th place with a 55-45-100.

In Class AA Aaron Leintz of Bagley begins today’s final 18 holes tied for 36th after shooting 39-39-78 Wednesday at Sand Creek near Jordan.

Max Deutz of Marshall had the low round of the day with a 70.