WATERTOWN – For once, the weather wasn’t a factor, and Aberdeen Central took full advantage.
The Golden Eagles put all four scorers in the top 12, including Olivia Braun as the medalist and Emma Dohrer as the runner-up, en route to a convincing girls’ golf team victory at the Watertown Invitational at Cattails Golf Course Tuesday afternoon.
“It was enjoyable to finally get out and not have to battle the weather elements and go play golf,” said Central coach Kim Zimmerman.
Central finished with a team score of 308, 20-over par. It was a refreshing finish after the Golden Eagles had reached the 20-over mark in the first six holes in their last outing.
“We had a nice rebound from last Friday,” Zimmerman said. “Not that we did horrible last Friday, but leaving the course then, I knew we could play better, and the girls felt they could play better.”
Braun carded a round of 69 to win medalist honors by six strokes over Dohrer. Braun had five birdies in her round, including three straight to open the back nine holes.
“She played very well,” Zimmerman said. “I think she hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation. Just didn’t get herself in trouble.”
Dohrer’s round of 75 earned her second place honors, while Kyley Wirebaugh’s 78 put her in a 3-way tie for third. Chloe Vikander recorded an 86 to finish tied for 12th.
“There were a lot of positives that came out of today,” Zimmerman said. “A nice team score, individual champ. I could go through each girl and talk about their accomplishments, but it was a very fulfilling day.”
Central will look to leverage Tuesday’s performance into some forward momentum with the biggest tournaments of the season on the horizon.
“We have conference coming up in about a week,” Zimmerman said, “so you just want to get some momentum and confidence going forward. Days like today kind of fulfill that.”
Central will have one final tune-up opportunity ahead of that conference tournament, traveling to Brookings on Thursday.
Team Points: Aberdeen Central 308, Watertown 322, Brookings 348, Harrisburg 356, Pierre 361.
Top 15 Individual Results
1, Olivia Braun, Aberdeen Central, 69; 2, Emma Dohrer, Aberdeen Central 75; 3, (tie) Aspen Reynolds, Watertown, 78, Delilah Fuls, Brookings, 78, and Kyley Wirebaugh, Aberdeen Central, 78; 6, Shelby Pearson, Watertown, 79; 7, (tie) Miyah Foerster, Brookings, 80, and Avery Palmquist, Watertown, 80; 9, Brinly Sanderson, Harrisburg, 81; 10, Izzy Werth, Harrisburg, 83;
11, Gabi Olson, Watertown, 85; 12, (tie) Chloe Vikander, Aberdeen Central, 86, and Carighan Klatt, Watertown, 86; 14, (tie) Brooke Helland, Harrisburg, 88, and Morgan Jones, Aberdeen Central, 88.
Other Aberdeen Central golfer: 24, (tie) Kylie Herman, 99.
To see complete results, click on the following link:
