On day better for suited for flying a kite, Eastern South Dakota Conference golfers did their best to keep golf balls from flying into trouble Monday at Moccasin Creek Country Club.
Pierre swept both the individual and team titles. Sawyer Sonnenschein shot a 74 to earn medalist honors, with Derek Andersen of Tea Area just one stroke back.
Aberdeen Central, which finished eighth as a team, was led by Jackson Ravellette, who tied for 13th place with a round of 82.
“I knew the wind was going to be a big factor,” Ravellette said, “and knowing where you can miss and what shots you have to play; into the wind, play a little lower, and downwind you can get aggressive with it.”
The junior got off to a slow start before picking up steam.
“I had a mediocre start and then I went birdie-birdie to end the front nine,” Ravellette said. “And then on 10 I had a six-foot putt for birdie, missed that. I just had one bad swing that led to a few bad shots, but you just got to get past that.”
Ravellette would like to finish among the top 25 golfers at next week’s State AA Tournament at Cattail Crossing in Watertown, which would mark a big improvement over last year. He said he is playing some of his best golf heading into state, and listed a couple of reasons why.
“Definitely the coaches have really improved my swing, the putting,” Ravellette said. “I used to three-putt a good amount … but today it really wasn’t a problem and my swing, I feel confident over the ball, I know can hit good shots.”
Central’s Cole Brust, who tied for 27th with an 86, was just happy to be out on the course. The sophomore missed the start of the season after breaking his arm playing baseball this past summer.
“When I broke my arm I didn’t know if I would play here for ESD,” Brust said. “Obviously, it’s a one-time thing to get to play ESD at your home course, so it’s nice just to get to play and have the experience.”
While Brust was hoping to shoot a lower score, he was also realistic.
“The goal was to break 80, but I’m not too upset with 86,” Brust said. “I mean, just that wind kills you.”
Brust said the blustery conditions impacted nearly every shot from drives to putts.
“It was tough with all that wind,” he said. “You mostly had to hit knock-down shots most every shot that you hit, and irons when you’re down wind are tough to control.”
Even routine putts were anything but routine during the tourney.
“Even when you’re standing over putts, your whole body’s moving with the wind and even the ball,” Brust said.
Last year Brust was one place out of making all-state at the state tournament with a 25th-place finish. Obviously, he would like to move up the leaderboard this time. When asked what it will take to do that, Brust responded, “Just working hard for the next week and hitting the range a lot, making sure I know what I’m doing.”
The ESD tourney was the final high school event at Moccasin Creek Country Club for Central senior Carter Blanchard. He said it felt different walking off the course for the final time.
What will Blanchard recall most about his days with the Golden Eagles?
“Just trying to have an affect on the younger guys,” Blanchard said, “trying to make sure that they still want to carry on, keep Aberdeen Central’s golf program going, try to keep getting it better.”
Blanchard said the future looks bright for the Golden Eagles on the course going forward.
“You can tell just our younger guys have so much talent,” Blanchard said, “and I’d say just coming into these future years they’re going to be very good, even better than we are this year, so I’m just glad I was able to be a part of it at all.”
Other Central golfers on the day had Ben Phillips tying for 27th with an 86, and Kyler Senger shooting a 94, Blanchard a 97, and Kalen Larson a 98.
To see complete tournament results, click on the following link:
