VERMILLION, S.D. – Amid the current pandemic, new and current South Dakota golfers saw success over the summer. Newcomer's
Ben Daane and
Danica Badura racked up titles their final summer before becoming Coyotes as well as current Coyote golfers
Laerke Jensen,
Ben Hicks and
Julia Hall.
Badura won three titles over the past few months and claimed her first Nebraska Girls Association (NGA) title by winning the 58
th Nebraska Girls' Match Play Championship at the Oakland Golf Club.
She cruised through her first two matches only needing 27 holes total to close them out. The next day she was in a battle in both of her matches. After having a 4-up lead over Elly Speece, her lead was cut to 1-up after a Speece birdie on No. 16. A par gave Badura the two-and-one win and her first final appearance.
In the finals against Nicole Kolbas, Badura lost the second hole, but quickly recovered by winning four of the next six holes. On the back nine, Badura had ice in her veins as she won three of the first four holes. After a birdie from Kolbas on the 16
th to keep her alive, Badura made par on the 17 but Kolbas' attempt missed right and Badura won on the penultimate hole, two and one.
Badura took home the 20
th Nebraska Girls' Amateur Championship on July 8 at the Scotts Bluff Country Club. She finished with a 150 (+6) to win by one stroke. She became only the sixth player to sweep both of the NGA's girls' championships in the same year.
After shooting an even-par 36 on the front nine, Badura held a one stroke lead but struggled on holes 11 and 12. A mixture of players traded leads the next few holes until Badura and Kolbas emerged as one and two going into the final hole. After both golfers failed to reach the green in regulation, Kolbas' putt rolled past the hole while Badura was able to get her putt within two feet of the hole to secure the victory.
Badura opened up August winning her third title of the summer when she captured the 46
th Nebraska Women's Amateur Championship by two strokes with a total score of 213 (-3).
After the first 36 holes she was tied with Lindsey Thiele. The Aurora, Nebraska, native then recorded a 34 on the front nine that included three birdies on the final day. On the back nine she played from behind and entered the 17
th hole one stroke down. With the title on the line, Badura calmly closed out the final two holes with back-to-back birdies to claim her third title of the season.
"It was an unforgettable summer to say the least," Badura said. "Overall, consistency was my strength. I carried that into each round and trusted that all the work I put in was going to pay off. I went into every tournament wanting to win, and I knew that would be difficult because of the level of competition.
"After each of my state titles, I gained even more confidence in both my swing and the mental aspect of the game. It's disappointing that I won't be able to compete again for a while since our fall season got cancelled, but I am still very grateful for the opportunity to get a lot of focused practice time in with my teammates here at USD."
A few days after Badura racked up her third title, junior
Laerke Jensen claimed the South Dakota Golf Association Amateur Championship with a final score of 223 (+10). She finished three strokes ahead of second place Alex Kandolin.
She started the tournament with five straight pars and a 38 on the front nine. The Hobro, Denmark native, followed up her score on the front with a 35 on the back nine. On day two, Jensen recorded two birdies on the front nine and shot an even par on both the front and back nine's to enter day three in the lead.
After the first three holes on day three, Jensen's lead was cut to four shots and after seven holes Kandolin overtook the lead at +8. Jensen would take back the lead a few holes later and held the lead through the rest of the back nine to finish with a 54-hole total of 223 (+10).
"Winning the 2020 SDGA Women's Amateur was honestly a result of countless hours spent on the practice facilities this summer," Jensen said. "I was obviously disappointed when our spring season was cancelled, because I didn't play my best last fall and I felt like the spring was my opportunity to get back on track and post some good scores.
"Since we didn't get to compete in the spring, I decided to put in the extra work this summer in order to be in contention for the SDGA Women's Amateur title. Being able to hold the trophy on the last day of the tournament was a big accomplishment for me, and it was a great motivation to keep working hard and improving my game every day."
In late July, incoming freshman
Ben Daane claimed the SDGA Junior title after shooting a 139 (-5) after two rounds of action. Daane finished the first day tied for first place with Nash Stenberg after both shooting a 70 after 18 holes.
The final 18 holes were just as close as the first 18 holes as Daane and Stenberg advanced to a playoff after tying through 36 holes. In the first playoff, both Daane and Stenberg recorded pars to extend to a second playoff. Both Daane and Stenberg were faced with long par putts after Daane had to chip out from under a tree. With ice in his veins, Daane sunk a 40-foot putter like it was nothing to par the second playoff hole and take home the title.
"It was an awesome experience," Daane said. "The state junior has always been the event I've tried to peak for every summer. After getting runner up last year, it was awesome to get the win this year. It was an incredibly hard fought battle against a really good player in Nash Stenburg. Overall, I'm very grateful to have gotten it done before moving on to college."
After some great individual performances by Coyote golfers, redshirt-junior
Julia Hall and junior
Ben Hicks teamed up to mount a huge comeback win in the 30
th Minnesota Golf Association Mixed Amateur Team Championship.
After facing a seven-stroke deficit heading into the final day, the duo turned in one of the best rounds in tournament history and claimed a one-stroke victory at the Hastings Golf Club. The twosome recorded three birdies on the back nine on day two to finish with a round of 2-under 70 and entered the final day in a tie for eighth place.
In need of some serious momentum on the final day, the golf gods answered. Hall and Hicks carded five birdies and a pair of eagles through 17 holes. On the final hole, Hall stepped up to the tee box and drilled her tee shot which landed two feet away from the hole to set up one final birdie to edge the team of Taylor Ledwein and Alex Schmitz with a final-round 10-under 62.
"It was a great experience for me being able to play with a teammate and a great friend," Hall said. "Ben and I are complete opposites when we play, so we were able to find a great combination on the second day. We kept great energy up the second day."
"Heading in we knew we had a pretty good chance of winning," Hicks added. "Approaching the final holes, I knew I just needed to do my part and put our approach shot in a place to give her a look at either birdie or eagle because she didn't miss a putt all day. Her great play and attitude rubbed off on me those last 27 holes and it felt as if it was just us and the shot in front of us. Those were two of the most fun days I've had on a golf course."
The next time the Coyote women's team will see action will be on Feb. 8 in Riverside, California, when they compete in the Battle at the Rock. The men will travel to Goodyear, Arizona, on Feb. 21 to compete in the Loyola (MD) Invite.
