Otter Boys Compete in Northern Golf Invite
The Fergus Falls boys golf team competed in the Northern Invite hosted by Virginia high school on Friday and Saturday. The boys normally play in the Central Lakes Conference where they are the only AA team playing against all AAA teams. The trip up north was nice because after the Otter boys get through the conference season, it all about getting up north and competing against teams that are similar in size based on enrollment.
The Otters have been invited to the Northern Invite for the last 5 years. Normally the competition is held at Giants Ridge, specifically the "Quarry Golf Club" which is an amazing course. The unlucky streak of weather for all spring sports teams hit the Otter golfers again as the event was changed from the Quarry to Virginia Golf Club, a course that would also prove to be challenging.
Day 1 started at noon on Friday on a very wet course as the frost was just coming out of the ground. There were 84 golfers representing 18 high school teams playing in the event. Winds were moderate and the weather was beautiful and the Otters got off to a hot start shooting their best team score of the year with a 310. Riley McGovern led the way with an even par 71, a personal best competitive round by quite a bit. Riley was also tied for the lead with his 71 after day one. Freshman, Adam Kennedy, posted his best round of his young career with a 6 over par 77 while Ryan Nelson shot a 9 over par 80. Junior captain Charlie Fuder, rounded out the scoring with an 82. Sophomores Gavin Goepferd and Sam Dirkman shot 84 and 86, respectively.
Day 2 started at 10am with the winds howling and the Otter boys all sunburned from the day before. McGovern took the individual solo lead after a birdie on the first hole now being -1 thru 19 holes. The lead wouldn't last long after a double on hole 2 while the winds continued to blow.
The Otters started to fall behind as a team when Ryan Nelson caught fire. "Ryan was the spark today. He bogeyed hole 2 and then made birdies on holes 4, 5, and 7. All of the sudden he was -2 for his round after a tough start", Otter coach Matt McGovern said. "Fuder hung tough with some great pars in the middle of his round while we continued to chase Cloquet as a team."
Cloquet, last year's team winner in AA golf was a challenge. The Otters put up a great fight and came up a little short. "Second place in an 18 team invite is an amazing accomplishment for these boys. We lost to the team that won the AA state tournament last year. I'd say we are feeling pretty darn good about what we accomplished this weekend," added McGovern.
Riley McGovern tees off on hole number 17 on day two of the Up North Invite. PHOTO PROVIDED
Otter scores include many personal bests for this young team.
Riley McGovern (71-75) for a total of +4 and a 3rd place finish
Ryan Nelson (80-76) for a total of +14 and a 7th place finish
Adam Kennedy (77-83) finished in a tie for 10th. The 77 on day 1 was a personal best.
Gavin Goepferd finished in 13th place after an 84 and and an awesome comeback round of 77 on the 2nd day.
Charlie Fuder shot a 163 with rounds of 82 and 81 to finish 15th overall in the tournament.
Sam Dirkman got some valuable varsity golf experience shooting 86-94 to finish in 46th place.
"Momentum is on our side now after this great weekend and we want to keep it going", McGovern added.
The Otters compete again on Monday in another CLC event at the Legacy in Brainerd.
