By Mike Fermoyle (mikefermoyle@gmail.com)
COON RAPIDS -- At some point, people from the Twin Cities and the southern part of the state will stop being surprised by the success of Moorhead golfers.
You could make the case that Moorhead is the Rodney Dangerfield of Minnesota high school golf. They just don't get much respect. Of course, the Spuds don't complain. They just win.
Three years ago, for example, they won the boys Class AAA team championship at the state tournament, and one of their number, Ben Welle, tied Chaska's Jon DuToit for the individual title. People not from the North seemed surprised, and it would appear that Welle's victory still hasn't been embraced by everyone. He was listed as "Ben Wells" in the 2015 tournament program.
Dane Sethre-Hofstad is the latest example of an under-appreciated Spud.
The Moorhead senior came into this year's state tournament ranked No. 25 and pretty much unknown by anyone who lives south of St. Cloud. He was a kind of litmus test for those who really knew something about high school golf. If you didn't know who he was, you hadn't been paying attention. And he definitely should have been ranked higher. After all, he set the course record at The Pines with a 64 a few weeks ago while winning the Brainerd Invitational by 10 strokes, and he won the Section 8AAA individual medal by six strokes with a 72-71--143 at Lakeside Golf Course in Perham.
On Wednesday, he capped off his season by shooting a 3-under-par 69 at Bunker Hills GC and winning this year's AAA individual championship. That gave him a 36-hole total of 143 and a one-stroke victory over another senior, Peter Jones of Owatonna.
Jones, who made a first-round 71 look easy on Tuesday, was tied for the lead with one hole to fo in the final round -- but the University of Minnesota recruit was living dangerously. On his 16th hole (No. 7 West, a 380-yard par 4) he hit his tee shot into a water hazard and had to make a 40-foot putt for par. At No. 8 West, a formidable 220-yard par 3, his tee shot found the bunker, but he got it up and down for another par.
But then on 9 West (340 yards, par 4), his attempt at another Great Escape came up short. After pulling his tee shot into the trees on the left, he punched his second shot out and ended up just short of the green. His chip ran about 9 feet past the cup, and he missed the putt for par.
The resulting 73 put him at 144.
Tying for third were Caleb VanArragon, an eighth-grader from Blaine, and Edina senior Sam Foust.
Foust, who tied for second in AAA last year was No. 1 in the MGA's final rankings this season (the MGA Rankings cover all three classes), looked as if he might win the individual crown this year. With four holes remaining, he was 4 under for the round, 1 under for the tournament. But he struggled on the way in -- double, bogey, bogey, bogey -- had to settle for a 73, and ended up with a two-day tab of 148.
VanArragon concluded his first appearance at the state tournament with a 75 to claim his share of third.
Buffalo senior Gunnar Goodmanson and Lakeville South junior Trey Sheehan were next, tied for fifth at 149.
Wednesday was a little cooler and significantly windier than Tuesday had been, and that made scoring more difficult. Eden Prairie senior Jack Koehler and White Bear Lake junior Mason Fiddle started the final day tied with Jones for first, but the both posted 79's and finished at 150, tied for seventh, along with Miles McCarthy, a sophomore from Minnetonka.
Wayzata, after finishing one stroke out of first place two years in a row, re-captured that state team title that it had won three years in a row (2009-11), thanks in no small part to the Frazzini brothers, Bobby (a senior and a Northern Iowa recruit)) and Ben (a sophomore). They were both a four-way tie for 10th place with aggregate scores of 151. Their teammate Will Holmgren was another stroke back, at 152.
The Trojans' winning total was 607, which was three better than the 610 that was put up by last year's champ, Edina. Lakeville South was third at 612.
The difficulty of the conditions Wednesday made Sethre-Hofstad's 69 seem that much more impressive. He didn't make a single bogey -- or anything higher -- in the round, which is extremely rare in high school golf. This might have been the first time it's ever happened in the large-school portion of the state tournament.
Sethre-Hofstad will be heading for Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania this fall. He wants to play golf there, but it's a Division III school, which means that there are no athletic scholarships. That's OK with him. He's more interested in grad school (probably in Bio-Chemistry) than the PGA Tour, and correspondingly, his approach to golf is more cerebral than muscular.
"I was on the team in 2012, when we won the team championship, and Ben Welle won the individual," Sethre-Hofstad noted. "So I know him pretty well. I watched him play at the Pine to Palm last year, and he won the tournament. He did it by keeping the ball in play. He hit a lot of 3-irons and 3-woods off the tee, and he didn't hit many drivers. That's what I did here. It's tough a lot of times to restrain yourself. You want to pull out the Big Dog and hit your driver. But I stuck with my plan. It didn't bother me if I had a middle iron -- or even a long iron -- into the green for my second shot. I just wanted to be hitting it from the fairway."
Sethre-Hofstad is no more than about 5-8 and 150 pounds, but when he does hit his driver, he hits it far enough to reach his fair share of par-5's. He got the first of his three birdies on Wednesday by hitting a 7-iron just short of the green at the 451-yard, par-5 fourth hole on the East Nine, and then chipping close enough for a tap-in. At the 495-yard, par-5 sixth hole, he hit a 4-iron into the front bunker and got up and down from there for another birdie.
He also birdied his 11th hole, No. 2 West (510 yards, par 5), using his 3-iron-off-the-tee strategy. A 5-iron lay-up left him with 107 yards to the hole, and he ended up making a 20-footer for his final birdie.
Although he hit only 10 greens in regulation, Sethre-Hofstad said it was essentially a stress-free round.
"I was chipping really well," he explained, "and nearly all of my par putts were tap-ins."
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL GOLF
State Tournament
Class AAA
At Bunker Hills Golf Course
Par 72, 6,515 yards
Coon Rapids
Final results
Team scores
1. Wayzata 302-305--607
2. Edina 302-308--610
3. Lakeville South 309-303--612
4. White Bear Lake 302-318--620
5. Grand Rapids 312-323--635
6. St. Thomas Academy 314-323--637
7. Buffalo 311-329--640
8. St. Michael-Albertville 325-319--644
Individuals
1. Dane Sethre-Hofstad, Moorhead 74-69--143
2. Peter Jones, Owatonna 71-73--144
T3. Sam Foust, Edina 75-73--148
T3. Caleb VanArragon, Blaine 73-75--148
T5. Gunnar Goodmanson, Buffalo 76-73--149
T5. Trey Sheehan, Lakeville South 76-73--149
T7. Mason Fiddle, White Bear Lake 71-79--150
T7. Jack Koehler, Eden Prairie 71-79--150
T7. Miles McCarthy, Minnetonka 76-74--150
T10. Bobby Frazzini, Wayzata 74-77--151
T10. Connor Hall, Hopkins 74-77--151
T10. J.J. Svac, Osseo 74-77--151
T10. Ben Frazzini, Wayzata 75-76--151
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