A pair of Sioux Falls men with special ties to Moccasin Creek Country Club added another special memory on Sunday evening.
Will Grevlos and Tyler Westra shot a 12-under 36-hole total 132 to win the South Dakota Golf Association’s Two-Man Championship by a single stroke.
Westra’s parents used to live in Aberdeen so his first golfing experience occured at the local course.
“The first 18 holes I ever played was out here, actually,” Westra said. “It’s pretty special.”
Grevlos is also no stranger to the course. He won the Class AA individual state championship at Moccasin Creek in 2016.
“I’ve played a lot of good golf here,” Grevlos said. “I’m comfortable with the holes, comfortable with the greens, and knowing I’ve had success here gives me a little bit more confidence that I can get it done again.”
The duo had some work to do after coming into Sunday’s final round a couple of strokes behind the leaders.
“We knew we had to go low. We were a couple back going into the day,” Westra said. “We just had to hit a lot of good shots out there and give ourselves chances. Just right out of the gates, rolled a couple of putts in and got going and played really good today.”
It didn’t take long for Westra and Grevlos to surge into the lead after getting birdies on holes 4, 5, 6 and 7.
“We just played good golf. Tyler was putting well for me. I was hitting it in close and he was making the putts,” Grevlos said. “We made four birdies in a row, so I guess that kind of just takes care of itself.”
From there, it was a matter of staying out of trouble and trying to maintain a slim lead. The duo ended up finishing just one stroke ahead of the tandem of Aberdeen’s Lucas Schaefbauer and Yankton’s Matthew Schaefer.
“After nine, on the live score I was able to see we were basically one ahead or tied at the moment,” Westra said. “We played really good on the front nine and obviously felt the pressure on the back nine. We had to keep it going. We hit a lot of good shots on the back nine.”
Grevlos, who played collegiately at the University of Minnesota, said the victory ranks right up at the top of his golfing accomplishments along with his high school state championship.
While the two men have golfed together for years, this past weekend marked the first time they had played together as a team in a tournament, making the victory even more meaningful.
“It was definitely one we circled on the calendar,” Westra said. “This is the first time Will and I teamed up together. It was just going to be a lot of fun out there.”
Schaefbauer and Schaefer made the Sioux Falls duo earn the championship. The South Dakota State University golf teammates closed with a flurry down the stretch.
“We birdied 16, 17 and 18,” said Schaefbauer, who won the Class A state individual championship in 2017 while golfing for Roncalli. “I made a putt on 16, a decent-length putt and then we both missed the green on 17 and he chipped in for birdie, so it was really awesome to see that. That was a lot of excitement there. We got the ball on in two on 18 and had a two-putt for a birdie, so it was a solid finish. We were excited about it.”
To see complete tournament results, click on the following link:
