Extended Season Boosts Golf Rounds in Minnesota in 2024
December 23, 2024
DETROIT LAKES, Minn. – Carrying a one-stroke lead to the final round of the 95th Minnesota State Junior Boys’ Championship at Detroit Country Club Tuesday, Mason Roloff dropped four consecutive birdie chances to pull away from the field, carding a 5-under 66 to earn a four-stroke lead over Braden Sladek, Ryan Stendahl, Davis Johnson and Tyler Seeling.
Roloff reverses his fortune from his runner-up finish at the Minnesota Boys’ Junior PGA Championship at Royal Golf Club, earning his first state championship victory.
Beginning at the par-5 fifth, Roloff strung together consecutive birdies to turn in 10-under for the championship, moving to 11-under following his birdie at the par-5 12th. Roloff would get to 12-under after converting his birdie chance at the 15th, but would card his second bogey of the week on his 36th hole to shoot a final-round 66 to finish on top of the leaderboard at 11-under 131.
Sladek opened the championship with a 6-under 66 Monday and got off to a rocky start to begin the second round Tuesday, carding back-to-back bogeys to drop to 3-under for the championship. He would draw even for the day with birdies at five and six, but would bogey the par-3 eighth to turn in 1-over for the round.
Steady over his final nine holes, Sladek got back on track by rolling in back-to-back birdie chances at the 11th and 12th holes and would add one final birdie at the 17th to shoot 2-under 69 and finish in a share of second at 7-under 135.
Stendahl, who made the cut at last week’s Minnesota Golf Association Amateur Championship as the youngest player in the field on his home course at Rush Creek Golf Club, also opened with a 5-under 66 Monday, playing his first five holes in 1-over before carding three consecutive birdies to move to 7-under.
Following a bogey at the ninth, Stendahl would drop back to 6-under for the championship, and play his next eight holes in even par, finishing with a birdie on the last to shoot 2-under 69 to place second at 135.
Johnson entered the final round two shots back of Roloff Tuesday and would quickly close the gap by carding three birdies over his first six holes to move to 7-under for the tournament. He would stumble late on his front nine with a bogey at the seventh and a double at the ninth to turn in even for the round.
A bogey at the 10th dropped Johnson to 3-under for the championship, but he would finish with a flurry of four birdies over his final seven to post a 3-under 68 to finish second at 135.
Seeling fired a 3-under 68 to start the championship Monday and would play his front nine in 1-under with three birdies against two bogeys. A birdie at the 12th put Seeling at 5-under for the championship and he would finish with birdies at 16 and 18 for a round of 67 to place second at 135.
The 96th Minnesota State Junior Boys' Championship will be contested at Little Crow Golf Resort in Spicer, Minn.
December 23, 2024
December 7, 2024
October 29, 2024
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