Herrick Leads After Opening Round of MGA Women's Mid-Am at Bunker Hills

By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


  COON RAPIDS, Minn. – After carding a 3-over par 75 Sunday at Bunker Hills Golf Club, Olivia Herrick is one step closer to repeating as Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion.

Herrick, Manitou Ridge Golf Club, edged Claudia Pilot by two strokes a year ago to claim her first mid-amateur title in her first year of eligibility. She will take a two-shot lead over six-time champion Leigh Klasse into the final round Monday.

“Today was very much up and down,” Herrick said after her round Sunday. “I got off to a shaky start, made a couple of birdies in the middle of the round and then I just finished really poorly.”

Herrick stumbled early in her round Sunday with a bogey on the opening hole before adding a pair of bogeys to sit at 3-over through seven holes. She would heat up mid-round by rolling in her birdie putt on the ninth to make the turn at 2-over par 38.

With back-to-back birdies at the 11th and 12th holes, Herrick pulled even on the day but she would again struggle late in her round. She failed to get her par putt to fall on the 16th and followed it with a double-bogey on the 17th to slip to 3-over.

Herrick limited the damage with an excellent sand save for par on the final hole to shoot 75 and take a two-stroke lead into the final round.

“I feel like you can be really aggressive here and it sets up really well for making birdies,” Herrick said. “I had a couple of opportunities today and capitalized on them. I was hitting the ball well so it’s hard to be too upset. I got a couple of weird breaks, but I just have to go out and shoot something low tomorrow.”

Klasse, Keller Golf Club, also got off to a slow start Sunday with back-to-back bogeys on the first and second holes, and would add three more to make the turn at 5-over par 41.

A birdie on the 11th seemed to put Klasse back on track, but she would fail to make par at the 12th and 14th to fall to 6-over for the championship.

Klasse, who last won the championship in 2011 and had a string of five consecutive wins from 2004-08, finished strong with a birdie at the par-4 15th before rolling in consecutive par putts to finish her day at 77.

Allison Hurley, Minnesota Valley Country Club, shot a 7-over par 79 Sunday and will begin Monday’s final round four shots behind Herrick.

Hurley birdied the opening hole, but went 4-over par over the next seven holes before making birdie at the ninth to shoot 2-over on the front side. She rattled off four consecutive pars to start the final nine holes Sunday before running into trouble late in her round.

Back-to-back bogeys dropped her to 4-over for the day before taking a double-bogey at the 16th. A bogey on the final hole put her in the clubhouse in third place at 7-over par 79.

The MGA Women's Mid-Amateur Championship concludes Monday with tee times beginning at 7 a.m. at Bunker Hills Golf Club.