Century’s Alex Leidholm was even-par through the first fourholes of the Century Invitational golf tournament Saturday.
Then came a disastrous fifth hole on the front nine of Bismarck’sTom O’Leary Golf Course. The junior needed eight strokes tocomplete the par-4 hole.
“It was really tough. for starters, I hit a tree with one shot andthen I had to shoot from under a tree,” Leidholm said. “It was anightmare.”
But the nightmare didn’t last. Leidholm recovered to shoot 4-overpar over the remaining 13 holes to tie Minot’s Danielle Foster forfirst place with a 77. she then defeated Foster in a two-holeplayoff to claim medalist honors for the first time as a varsityplayer.
In those last 13 holes, Leidholm shot even-par five times, recordedtwo birdies, and had six single-bogeys.
Tom O’Leary is a par 69 course.
“After that fifth hole, I had a pretty consistent round,” saidLeidholm, who shot a 6-over 41 on the front nine and a 2-over 36 onthe back. “Our assistant coach (Keith Aasen) kind of calmed me downand helped me to refocus. Except for that one hole, I had a goodday all around.”
Both Leidholm and Foster parred the first playoff hole. Leidholmthen shot even-par on the second, while Foster bogeyed.
Leidholm’s performance and perseverance impressed Century coachLynn Gress.
“Alex had a nice score, especially when you consider theless-than-ideal conditions,” said Gress, referring to Saturday’scloudy, wet weather. “I was most impressed with the way she bouncedback after that one tough hole. she kept her composure and playedthrough it. I think she learned a lot about herself today.”
Leidholm led the Patriots to their fifth team championship in asmany tournaments. Century ended the day with 328 strokes – 18 lessthan second-place Dickinson.
Rounding out Century’s team score were Annie Nelson with an 83, andBrianna Flynn and Lindsay Reede, both with an 84. Nelson finishedsixth individually, while Flynn and Reede tied with Mandan’sMercedes Mata for seventh.
Another Century golfer, Alex Hopkins, finished in a three-way tiefor 10th with an 85.
Century, the defending state champion, has won nine straighttournaments.
“I’m very proud of our players. We graduated six seniors from lastyear’s state championship team, so this is a new group,” Gresssaid. “They’ve gone out and competed tournament after tournament,and have gotten better. Now we’re hoping to keep it going. Theregional and state tournaments aren’t that far off. We want to keepbuilding momentum.”
The tournament also was a state-qualifier for individuals.Leidholm, Foster and all golfers who finished 15 strokes or lowerbehind them all qualified for the tournament. The group includedNelson, Flynn, Reede, Hopkins and Lexi Hovland (91) of Century;Mata and Kayla Hebling (85) of Mandan, and Ashley Doppler (89) ofBismarck.
West Region teams will close out the regular season withtournaments at Bismarck’s Apple Creek on Monday, and Mandan’sPrairie West on Tuesday.
Century Invitational at Tom O’Leary GC
1. Century 328. 2. Dickinson 346. 3. Williston 365. 4. Minot 380.5. Mandan 385. 8. Bismarck 388. Jamestown and Turtle Mountain didnot field full teams.
1. Alex Leidholm, Cen, 77 (winner in a 2-hole playoff). 2. DanielleFoster, Min, 77. 3. Riana Cooper, Dic, 78. 4. Sierra Bennion, Jam,79. 5. Kayla Barke, Will, 80. 6. Annie Nelson, Cen, 83. 7. (tie)Brianna Flynn, Cen; Lindsay Reede, Cen, and Mercedes Mata, Man, 84.10. (tie) Alex Hopkins, Cen; Kayula Hebling, Man, and RachelJahner, Dic, 85.
Century (326): Leidholm 77, Nelson 83, Flynn 84, Reede 84, Hopkins85, Lexi Hovland 91.
Dickinson (346): Cooper 78, Jahner 85, Kira Haag 87, Ashley Schara96, Jill Mueller 101, Rachel Lantz 103.
Williston (365): Barke 80, Anna Peterson 95, Cari Zavalny 95,Irelyn Huntley 95, Rachel Anderson 114, Nicole Packer 118.
Minot (380): Foster 77, Haili Duchscherer 89, McKinley Bender 102,Casara Tessendorf 112, Evie Reynolds 112, Hallie Williamsson115.
Mandan (385): Mata 84, Hebling 85, Sydnie Mongeon 103, MeganBroeckel 113, Brianne Hirchert 119, Devon Comeau 131.
Bismarck (388): Ashley Doppler 89, Sierra Deringer 99, Gretta Gilje99, Ciara Schock 101, Katie Kasper 105, Carissa Craven 116.
Jamestown: Bennion 79, Maria Lefeure 93, Alyssa Mangin 97.
Turtle Mountain: Kayana Trottier 122, Gia Davis 125.