State Golf: Krieger and Stoxen close to lead after Day 1

Brainerd's Anna Krieger takes a shot in the Class 3A girls state golf tournament Tuesday, June 15, 2021, at Bunker Hills Golf Club. Bill Johnson / Picture Day Pro!

By Conrad Engstrom

June 15, 2021 at 9:14 PM

Brainerd’s Anna Krieger carded three birdies in her Day One round of 72 at the Class 3A girls state tournament Tuesday, June 15, at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Minneapolis.

Krieger opened her round with a double bogey on hole 10, but bounced back quickly with a birdie on the par 5 14th hole.

“She said she was really nervous on the first tee to get things going,” Warriors girls head coach Todd Person said. “She had a double chip on the first hole and got a double bogey, but made a nice scramble on the second hole to save par and settled in to shoot the rest of her round at 2-under. She was hitting the ball well and had a good roll on her putts. She had 28 putts for the day.”

A bogey on hole 15 dropped Krieger to 2-over after nine holes. She birdied two holes on her front nine including the eighth hole, which would have been her 17th hole of the day.

“That’s kind of the way Anna has always been,” Person said. “She grinds things out and doesn’t let things get to her. That’s a testament to her work ethic throughout the years.”

Krieger said her focus after the double bogey was to just make pars.

“That’s what always calms me down just trying to make pars,” Krieger said.

After playing and seeing how the course played Tuesday, Krieger is confident she can go low for Day Two of the tournament Wednesday.

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“What really helped me today is that all my putts fell in,” she said. “I can straighten my irons a little better and now that I know the course a little better, I know where to miss.”

Krieger’s even-par 72 puts her two shots back of the leaders Reese McCauley of Simley and Olivia Salonek of Roseville.

In the afternoon, Erik Stoxen shot a 2-over 74 to be six shots back of the leaders after Day One.

Stoxen carded one birdie and one eagle on his round.

“He was really good off the tee,” Brainerd boys head coach Brian Wallace said. “He was extremely good at hitting greens. It was just a couple of mistakes along the way that cost him. From tee to green he was extremely good, he just couldn’t get any putts to fall.”

Stoxen said he hit all but two greens in his Day One round.

“I couldn’t get any putts to drop,” he said. “I hit my tee ball really well, which set me up to hit all the greens.”

He parred his first five holes before a birdie on No. 6 put him under par. He finished the front nine in even-par 36.

He double bogeyed 10, but got it back with an eagle on hole 14 when he made a 50-foot putt. He double bogeyed the 16th hole to finish with his 74.

“He really hung in there mentally,” Wallace said. “He didn’t let the putts he was missing get to his head. He’s staying positive and going into tomorrow’s round if the putts start falling, things will turn around for him.”

For tomorrow, Stoxen wants to see some putts fall in for him.

“If some putts start to fall that would be huge,” he said.

Izzy Olson fired a 76 to be six back of the leaders of Day One. Olson opened her round with a birdie on hole 10, which would be her only birdie of the round. She ended with five bogeys to finish her 4-over round.

“Izzy hit the ball from tee to green really well today,” Person said. “Even when she would miss a shot here or there, she would recover well. She just couldn’t get a putt to fall today. If the putts start rolling in tomorrow she has a chance to easily be under par tomorrow.”

Katie Foley carded one birdie in her round of 80. She birdied hole 18, which would’ve been her ninth hole of the round. Foley tallied four bogeys and two double bogeys on her round.

“She hit her drives really well, but like Izzy couldn’t get a putt to drop,” Person said of Foley. “If she can get the putts to roll tomorrow she will be low tomorrow.”