Girls Golf: Warriors 2nd in wind-swept CLC meet

EAST GULL LAKE — It was a learning day for the Brainerd Warriors.

The squad learned about playing the wind and how to deal with imposing pin positions on its way to a second-place finish Tuesday, May 2, in a Central Lakes Conference meet at Madden’s Pine Beach East Course.

Izzy Olson led the Warriors with her fourth-place 83. The senior fired a front nine 41 and followed it with a back nine 42. Her front nine score would have been better if not for the par 5 seventh hole. The state tournament veteran five-putted the green.

“I never was in a groove today,” Olson said. “My swing feels great. I’m hitting the ball great. My short game was bad. This is only the second time holding a putter in my hands. That’s tough. My putting is not where I want it to be and my short game isn’t where I want it to be, but the long game is there.”

Putting was Olson’s downfall as she finished with more than 40 putts.

“If you were into the wind it would probably be about two clubs difference,” Olson said. “Obviously, that would affect you if it was a long par three. That’s difficult because most of our par 3s are like 110 yards. That makes it about a 140-yard shot and that is significantly harder.

“I think what most affected me was the putting and the wind. A lot of the times you didn’t know if you wanted to play the wind or if the break would cancel out the wind.”

Olson’s playing partner Hannah Boraas of Alexandria won the event with a 2-under 70. She carded six birdies.

Brainerd’s Marcella Timmons landed a birdie on the par 5 15th. The freshman fired an 87 to finish tied for seventh.

Sophomore Kiley Jendro placed 12th with a 91. She opened with a 49, but battled back with a 41 on the back nine.

“We just talked to the girls about how the wind would probably add to clubs if you were hitting into it,” Warrior head coach Todd Person said. “We wanted them to pick their spots. Some of these spots around the green, if your long and the way the grass is at this time of year, it’s going to come back for you.

“The wind finally died down late in the round, which is good, because it was definitely a factor earlier.”

Rounding out Brainerd’s 357 was sophomore Madelyn Holmstrom tied for 14th with a 96. She also shaved 10 strokes off her front nine score to post a 43 on the back nine.

“We need to have some short game work,” Person said. “The putting wasn’t good and a couple of the pin placements were in tough spots. That short game stuff cost Madelyn Holmstrom some shots on her first hole and Izzy today as well.

“Overall, they’re getting along well and we’re having fun right now. We have a lot of golf between now and June 1.”

Meredith Holmstrom, a seventh-grader, tied for 17th and Karley Dunham tied for 20th for Brainerd.

“Today, I just told the girls that it’s windy and we’re right by a lake,” Olson said. “There needs to be lower expectations than normal because we’re not in perfect conditions. I think just going along and creating a drama-free, happy team is where we want to be. We’re not the best scoring-wise right now, but I think we have the most fun out there.”

JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 218-855-5856 or jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jeremymillsop.

Team highlight: Warriors finish second behind Alexandria

Individual highlight: Izzy Olson led the Warriors with an 83.

Next: Brainerd in Central Lakes Conference meet at Wapicada Golf Course, St. Cloud, 3:30 p.m. Monday, May 8.