By Mike Fermoyle (mikefermoyle@gmail.com)
COON RAPIDS -- Van Holmgren first played in the Minnesota state high school tournament when he was in eighth grade and was not quite 5 feet, 8 inches tall.
On Wednesday, he played in his fourth -- and last -- state tournament. The now nearly 6-foot-8 Holmgren went out in style. After a somewhat erratic front (East) nine at Bunker Hills Golf Course, the Wayzata senior was a rock of stability on the back (West) nine. He made seven pars and two birdies and posted a 1-under-par 71. That was good enough not only to win the Class AAA individual championship, but it also propelled the Trojans to the team title.
In a fitting conclusion to a season in which Wayzata, Minnetonka and Edina have had all sorts of great battles, the Trojans edged Tonka by two strokes with a two-day total of 591. That's the second-lowest winning score for the large-school class in tournament history, behind only the 590 put together by Edina in 2014. St. Thomas Academy finished third at 597.
Holmgren's winning individual aggregate was 143. That was one stroke better than the totals turned in by Minnetonka senior Ben Sigel and Mankato East sophomore Carson Haley.
Haley, whose older brother Carter finished third in Class AA two years ago -- and was the MGA Junior Player of the Year in 2015 -- qualified for the state tournament as an individual. So he played early on Wednesday and posted his 144 as the guys playing with teams were just starting their rounds. His score held up for a long time, as contenders fell by the wayside.
One of the more notable contenders was Tanner Sperling, a senior from Lakeville South. He had a frustrating front nine (West), shooting 40. But he came back with a vengeance, making birdies on four of the first five holes on his back nine (East) and leaving himself with a 4-foot birdie putt at the next hole, No. 6 East, a 495-yard par-5. He missed it and three-putted the green at the 430-yard, par-4 17th (8 East) on his way to a 72 and two-day tab of 145. Also finishing at that number, tied for fourth, were Lincoln Johnson of Chaska and Brady Arnett of St. Thomas.
Another contender who fired and fell back on Wednesday was Caleb VanArragon, the first-day leader. VanArragon had to replace his driver after an opening round of 69. (The head of the driver came loose. There was no club abuse, just a suddenly defective golf club.) But nothing seemed quite the same for VanArragon on Day 2. He shot 77 and tied for seventh place with a 146, along with Wayzata's Ben Frazzini, Brainerd's Gavin Mertz and Jack Rowe of St. Thomas.
Ultimately, it came down to Wayzata vs. Minnetonka, the defending team champion, and Holmgren vs. Sigel, the defending individual champ.
"It reminded me of a tournament we played earlier this year," Holmgren noted. "We shot 283, and Minnetonka shot 284. I had a 65, and Ben a 66."
Holmgren could be thought of as a kind of born-again golfer this year.
"I've grown up with the game," he said, "and I've had some problems dealing with the competitive aspects."
His issues became serious enough for him to abandon the idea of playing golf in college. He has been accepted for admission at the University of Minnesota, but he doesn't plan to try out for the Gopher golf team. Or rather, he wasn't planning on it.
"I'm re-thinking that now," he said Wednesday. "Things have gotten better for me on the course this year. I'm calmer. No real shakiness."
The best evidence of that came in the Section 6AAA tournament, where Wayzata was trailing Edina as crunch time approached. Holmgren hadn't played especially well in the first round of the sectional tournament, but he closed out the second round by making birdies on four of the last five holes, which was enough to lift the Trojans over the Hornets by two strokes -- 582 to 584.
Edina's Jack Ebner (141) and Nick Brann (144) took the first two spots in the 6AAA individual standings, but Wayzata took the next four -- Ian McKenzie Olson (145), Peder Larson (146), Ben Frazzini (146) and Holmgren (78-70--148).
"That was when I began to think that I wanted to get back into tournament golf," Holmgren recalled. "I was back to wanting to compete, which was something that I had lost."
On Wednesday, Holmgren wasn't really paying any attention to the contest for the individual medal.
"I wasn't even thinking about that," he said. "I had no idea where I stood until I got done with the round, and my coach said that he was pretty sure I had won. That was great, but it wasn't the main thing for me today."
Holmgren started the day two behind VanArragon, but by the time he was halfway through his front nine, VanArragon had posted his 146. So even though he didn't know it, the contest was between Holmgren and Sigel, with Haley as a very interested observer.
The front (East) nine went in Sigel's favor, as he played it in 1-under 35 for the second day in a row. Holmgren's front nine was a Variety Pack. He bogeyed the 347-yard, par-4 second hole (No. 2 East), but came right back with a birdie at the third, a 142-yard, par 3. No. 4 East is the easiest hole on the course, a 451-yard par-5, and Holmgren had a 9-iron in his hands for the second shot. But he flew the green, hit an indifferent pitch and three-putted for a bogey.
He bounced back with a birdie on the other par-5 on the front nine (No. 6 East), not going for the green in two, but laying up with a 2-iron and hitting his pitch shot close. But he bogeyed the eighth hole, and was two strokes behind Sigel as he went to the 10th tee (No. 1 West). As he had on No. 6, Holmgren didn't go for the greens on the two par-5's on the back nine -- No. 2 West (510 yards) and No. 5 (500) -- but he birdied them both with layups and good wedge shots.
Those two birdies on the par-5's turned out to be the difference, because he made no bogeys on the back (West) nine, shot 34 and gained three strokes on Sigel, who was Minnesota's Mr. Golf (the top senior in the state) this year. Actually, Sigel has been the best player in the state for the last two years -- he won the Class AAA title by six strokes in 2016. But he couldn't get the putts he needed to drop on Wednesday at Bunker Hills.
"Ben is a great player," Holmgren said. "We've been playing against each other for a long time, and it's nice when I can beat him. That's a tough thing to do."
The team victory for Wayzata came as the curtain was being drawn down on an era in Trojan golf. Holmgren is the youngest of three brothers who played in a combined total of 12 state tournaments, and Frazzini is the youngest of two brothers who played in six tournaments between them.
"No more Holmgrens. No more Frazzinis," Frazzini said, sounding as if he couldn't quite believe it. "Well, if it has to end, this was a great way to do it."
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL GOLF
Minnesota State Tournament
Class AAA
At Bunker Hills Golf Course
Par 72, 6,515 yards
Final results
1. Wayzata 296-295--591
2. Minnetonka 292-301--593
3. St. Thomas Academy 298-299--597
4. St. Michael-Albertville 302-306--608
5. Stillwater 301-314--615
6. Lakeville South 318-308--626
8. Alexandria 318-323--641
8. Elk River 317-330--647
Individuals
1. Van Holmgren, Wayzata 72-71--143
T2. Ben Sigel, Minnetonka 72-72--144
T2. Carson Haley, Mankato East 73-71--144
T4. Tanner Sperling, Lakeville So. 72-73--145
T4. Lincoln Johnson, Chaska 75-70--145
T4. Brady Arnett, St. Thomas 72-73--145
T7. Ben Frazzini, Wayzata 71-75--146
T7. Gavin Metz, Brainerd 75-71--146
T7. Caleb VanArragon, Blaine 69-77--146
T7. Jack Rowe, St. Thomas 73-73--146
T11. Jacob Pedersen, Minnetonka 71-76--147
T11. Connor Glynn, Waconia 73-74--147
13. Jack Ebner, Edina 77-71--148
T14. Lee Hauser, Willmar 73-76--149
T14. Taylor Zack, STMA 78-71--149
T14. Gunnar Broin, Minnetonka 73-76--149
T14. Christian Labador, STMA 76-71--149
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