By Jacob Belgum
WILLMAR - Thirty-six holes were not enough to decide the 89th Minnesota Golf Association’s State Junior Boys Championship, so a sudden-death playoff between Carter Haley of Mankato and Ethan Kraus of New Ulm ensued Tuesday at Eagle Creek Golf Club.
Haley, a rising senior at Mankato East High School, had the championship on his putter at the 18th hole of the second round but lipped out a four-foot birdie putt.
At first, the 2014 State Class AA champion thought the miss had cost him the shot at a playoff.
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“I was pretty down after that, but then I found out ‘Oh, you’re in a playoff,’ then I had to refocus,” he said.
He did just that. Haley and Kraus played the first hole, a short par-five to decide the championship. Kraus hooked his drive into the rough, but Haley played three perfect shots and stood over a gimme birdie attempt that he would not miss a second time, tapping it in for the victory.
Both golfers finished with scores of three-under 141, but Haley, caddied by his younger brother Carson, was as low as six-under before bogeying three of his final five holes. Nonetheless, he felt great going into the playoff.
“I was pretty confident,” he said. “I birdied the hole both rounds before it, so I was confident on the hole anyway.”
Both Haley and Kraus shot under par for the day and most of the rest of the field took advantage of the pristine weather, padding their cards with lower scores than during Day One of the two-day tournament on Monday. Among them was Willmar’s Levi Hauser.
One day after posting a first-round score of two-over 74, Hauser was one-under through his first 13 holes on Day Two, in contention for a top finish.
His putter betrayed him over his last five holes, though. He three-putted No. 14 and 16 for bogeys and finished alone in 11th place, with a three-over 147. Overall, he was happy with his play and said he struck the ball well throughout both rounds.
“I just lost the putter,” he said. “My goal today was to be par or less with the conditions. With the way the front nine went, I’m a little upset with how it turned out, but it’s still good.”
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Hauser, a rising junior, will have a chance to improve on his finish at next year’s tournament which will also be held at Eagle Creek. The home-course advantage should help his cause.
“That’s another thing, you feel like you should (score) a little lower since you have the advantage, but that’s golf for you,” he said. “You have your ups and downs.”
