Fossen finishes prep golf career strong at 3AA meet

And while Fossen did put up a fight and tied for the fourth-best boys score of the day, he finished two strokes shy of forcing a playoff for the final spot in the state tournament.

Luverne’s Owen Sudenga shot a 4-over-par 69 on the day to finish with a two-day score of 151, earning him the fifth and final boys individual Class AA state tournament trip. The top team overall after two days qualifies for the state tournament, along with the top five individual golfers not on that team.

Fossen’s 71 on Wednesday was a big improvement from the first day of the section meet, however, as he turned in a 79 last Thursday at Oakdale.

On Wednesday, Fossen sank a pair of eagles and putted for par on nine holes.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau
Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Mackenzie Merseth tees off during the second round of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

“I did my best,” Fossen said. “I just came out with a bang. A person in my group that I needed to beat, I beat him, that’s kind of what I was shooting for. Everything was clicking today.”

Fossen’s Day-2 finish saw him take ninth overall for the tournament. Fossen’s two-day score of 153 was also better than the 160 he shot last year in both days of the section meet.

The All-Conference golfer said he’s not done golfing yet and will continue playing with his buddies, but he said he enjoyed his time with the Eagles.

“It was fun,” Fossen said. “A lot of ups and downs, but I think it was pretty successful.”

Fossen said he will next attend Minnesota State University, Mankato in the fall to study finance.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau
New Ulm’s Mason Buegler crouches to look at the No. 8 Hole during the second day of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

Fossen had some teammates golfing at the meet also Wednesday in freshman Mason Buegler, sophomore Brayden Wendinger and senior Elyse Dreckman.

Buegler shot a 78 on Wednesday for a two-day score of 160, giving him 16th place overall for the tournament. Wendinger carded an 81 on Wednesday for a two-day score of 162, giving him a tie for 18th overall.

Both golfers saw a big improvement from last year also. They didn’t qualify for the second day of the section tourney last year as Buegler shot a Day 1 score of 93 and Wendinger turned in a 94.

Marshall won the boys side of the tournament to advance to state with a two-day score of 600.

SECTION 3AA GIRLS

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau
New Ulm’s Brayden Wendinger tees off during the second day of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

On the girls side of the tournament, Dreckman finished her career with the Eagles with a two-day score of 204 for 28th place. She shot a 101 on Wednesday. She advanced to Day 2 of the section meet last year also and finished with a two-day score of 205.

Also from the area on the girls side of the tournament were Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Mackenzie Merseth and Jorga Brown. Both golfers shot a 93 on Wednesday, giving Brown a 190 overall and a tie for 17th and Merseth a 191 for 19th.

Brown, a freshman, will have three years left to continue improving on her section scores as she hunts for a state berth, but Merseth’s prep career came to a close Wednesday.

The senior finished the last hole of her career at MVL on Hole 18 with a double bogey, but she was happy to see a five-stroke improvement from her first day of the section meet on May 23.

“I think that I figured out how to stay way more level,” Merseth said. “I didn’t let bad shots get me down or I didn’t hang my head over them, so I was able to just kind of keep moving forward. So, that’s how I was able to do a lot better than I did last round.”

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau
New Ulm’s Elyse Dreckman competes during the second round of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

Merseth said her chipping and putting also saw improvement from May 23.

Merseth’s two-day score of 191 was a dramatic improvement from last year as she finished last season’s section tourney a two-day score of 216.

Merseth credited her turnaround to the MVL golf program.

“MVL has been a lot of fun, especially with golf, it has been a very fun sport to play,” she said. “They take it serious enough that people can really improve and really get somewhere in their golf game, but they also know how to have fun with it. We have some games that we play in practices and our coaches do a really good job of making it fun for us as well. So throughout my years, I have improved greatly, shooting 70s to now shooting in the 40s, which is really incredible. That says a lot about our school and our program.”

Merseth will attend the University of Wisconsin-Stout for interior design. She said she was a late commit, but she may join the golf team there for the spring season or later if her schedule allows.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau
Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Jorga Brown putts during the second day of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

Minnewaska Area won the girls side of the tournament to qualify for state with a two-day score of 674.