Kimsal Named MGA Evans Scholar of The Year
October 29, 2024
MORTON, Minn. – Chandler Fritcher and Freddy Thomas both carded a 3-under par 69 to share the lead after the first round of the 87th Minnesota State Junior Boys Championship at Decotah Ridge Golf Club.
"I really had my irons zoned in today and I was really sticking my approach shots which really helped me shoot a low score on the front nine,” Fritcher said after his round.
Everything seemed to be working for Fritcher on the front nine as he began his day with two pars before back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes.
A close approach shot on the par-5 sixth hole led to another easy birdie putt and Fritcher moved to 3-under par. He would add another birdie on the eighth hole to make the turn at a staggering 4-under par 32.
On the back nine Fritcher, Rochester, Minn., made only a few mistakes as he bogeyed the 10th, 14th and 16th but evened out his final nine holes with two birdies on 13 and 15 to finish 1-over on the back nine and 3-under par 69 for the opening round.
“I struggled a little more off the box on the back nine, but my iron play kept me in it again. I ran into issues on a few holes but was able to birdie enough holes on the back to keep my round low,” Fritcher said.
“I’ve played this course enough know it’s a very scorable course as long as you play smart and keep the ball in play. I went into it playing one shot at a time and tried not to get too far ahead of myself,” he said. “If I can keep my misses small and stay out of trouble tomorrow, I should be in contention.”
Thomas, Lakeville, Minn., got off to a quick start as well as he birdied the third and fifth holes before an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole dropped him to 4-under. He would give a couple shots back with a double-bogey on the ninth hole to finish the front 2-under par 34.
"I think I really got going on the fourth hole. I hit a really bad shot off the tee and missed the green by 30 yards, but made a really good par. On six, I pulled my drive into the left rough and hit a 4-iron to about 20 feet and rolled it in for eagle," Thomas said.
"I've been struggling a little bit with my putter so it felt nice to make a couple of putts early," he said.
Thomas had a very consistent final nine holes as he started with a birdie on the 10th and ended with eight straight pars to finish the back nine 1-under par 35 and 3-under for the afternoon.
"I've played this course plenty of times so my mentality was to be aggressive and make birdies. I knew the leader would be a couple under par. There's no magic formula to win; I need to get off to another strong start and make a couple of early birdies and roll some putts in," Thomas said about his goal for the final round.
Will Holmgren, Corcoran, Minn., shot an opening round 2-under par 70 and sits alone in third place. Holmgren made birdie on his first hole of the morning and back-to-back birdies on the sixth and seventh holes to move to 3-under par before dropping a shot with a bogey on the ninth hole.
He shot even par on the final nine holes with a birdie on the 13th hole and a bogey on the final hole of the round finishing at 2-under par 70.
Jack Holmgren, Cordell Weber and Matt Rachey sit tied for fourth just two strokes behind the leaders going into Tuesday’s final round.
Tee times for the final round will begin at 8:00 a.m.
Tuesday For complete first round results go to: http://www.mngolf.org/Res/2013%20MN%20Jr%20Boys%20Rnd%201%20Results.pdf
October 29, 2024
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