A veteran golfer checked a major tournament off his win list, and two former teammates went to a playoff to determine a winner, during the South Dakota Golf Association Men’s and Women’s Match Play Championships at Moccasin Creek Country Club on Sunday afternoon.
Mitchell’s Brandon Sigmund won the men’s title, while Allison Meyerink edged former Mitchell teammate Maddie Childs to capture the women’s crown.
Sigmund defeated Radley Mauney of Hartford in the final round.
“It was very unexpected,” Sigmund said after claiming the championship. “This was important to me. I’ve played a lot of SDGA events over my career, and this is the one tournament that was always missing from my resume. And to get it at 51-years-old, I didn’t expect it, but it’s super cool. I couldn’t be happier and more emotional about it.”
Sigmund wasn’t sure if he would ever win the Match Play tournament.
“Ten years ago, I really felt maybe I would or have a chance more so. But now as I get older and I’m playing kids 30 years younger than me, it’s like I better get it done,” Sigmund said. “I better get it done if I have the opportunity. But yeah, it was a monkey off the back, for sure.”
As Sigmund gets older and much of his competition is younger, his experience is an advantage.
“I think one thing I noticed when you get deep into matches, the tournament emotion can get you frustrated,” Sigmund said. “When I see some of the younger kids, they have great games, but sometimes they can get frustrated and lose their cool. But they’re so good, it’s just a matter of experience and once they get there, they’ll understand it, too.”
Sigmund not only put his experience to good use, his putting game proved key to his victory as well.
“My putter saved me, absolutely,” Sigmund said. “That was what won the event for me.”
Mauney thought that his performance in the tournament was a little inconsistent.
“Honestly, I was off and on,” Mauney said. “I feel like I got lucky on a couple of matches with extra holes and it really just came down to my putting. This last match I couldn’t really make anything that I should have. That was the deciding factor.”
Mauney found the four-day event to be a bit physically challenging.
“I am definitely taking a day off (Monday),” Mauney said. “Props to Brandon for being able to still play that well after so many consecutive rounds. It’s tiring and it’s a mental grind, especially these days being long and in the heat.”
To win the tournament, Mauney said he needed a few more shots to go his way.
“Just a couple more putts and a couple loose drives that I should not have hit as poorly,” Mauney said. “There’s a couple putts I wish I could have had back.”
Meyerink, last year’s runner-up, won her first Match Play title in 19 holes over Childs.
Following the win Meyerink didn’t quite know how to feel.
“It’s mixed emotions,” Meyerink said. “Playing against an old teammate and good friend, it’s hard. Taking a win is nice. I’ve been working at it for a while now. Last year I finished runner-up, so I was going for the championship. But going against one of your best friends is really hard. But I’m grateful. I played some good golf.”
After last year’s second-place finish, Meyerink came in to this year’s event motivated.
“Last year was kind of tough,” Meyerink said. “I lost to a really good player. So, I was like there’s always next year. So, I was pushing myself this year. Practicing harder, trying to get more reps in and I just put my best effort in today.”
It certainly wasn’t an easy win for Meyerink, who came to hole 18 down one and hit a clutch putt to force a playoff.
“I knew I had to make the putt to have a chance to even have an opportunity to win,” Meyerink said. “So, I picked the best line I could, put it out there and tried to at least give it a chance to go in. So, my heart was racing a little bit, but it felt really nice that it dropped.”
Meyerink said a key was to stay mentally engaged throughout the event.
“This tournament is grueling. You play two rounds every day, sometimes 18 or more holes per round. So, you have to stay in it,” Meyerink said. “It’s mentally and physically challenging. Waking up early and going all day, almost. You have snacks, not really meals, but you just have to keep pushing on, mentally stay in it, and just keep the grind going.”
While Childs didn’t get the win, she was still happy with her performance.
“It was really great,” Childs said. I played a lot of really good golf this weekend, so it was really fun.”
Much like Meyerink, Childs also had mixed feelings facing someone she knows so well.
“It was definitely hard playing against one of my past teammates, but we battled it out and had a great match, and she made some great shots. So, it was really fun to play with her,” Childs said. “Obviously (playing Meyerink) isn’t something that you really look forward to, because neither of you want to lose and you know there’s that side of it. But it was fun just knowing her, and her dad is my coach, so that was really fun, too.”
Childs had a long weekend with many close battles, as all but two her matches came down to a playoff.
“It was really mentally hard, but I just knew I worked so hard to get to that spot, so I was really driven to succeed, and it was really fun,” Childs said. “And each playoff you get more comfortable the more you play in, so that was good, too.”
Having so many close matches, Childs said her strong suit is being able to bounce back and show perseverance.
“I wasn’t always leading, but I just stayed in in the match each time,” Childs said. “Hitting each shot one by one was really helpful. And I feel like I made a lot of great clutch shots. That was good, too.”
To see complete tournament results, click on the following link:
