Sports 17 August 2023

A true golfer’s weekend

golf, blooming prairie mens championship, winner, derek resler, tom wanous
Blooming Prairie Men’s Club Championship winner Derek Resler, left, shakes the hand of Blooming Prairie Country Club Treasurer Tom Wanous. Resler won the championship flight with a two-round score of 150. Photo from Facebook
By
Johnnie Phillips, Sports Editor

Local golfers had an abundance of opportunity to hit the courses this weekend as both Blooming Prairie and Owatonna hosted large tournaments open to members of the public.

Blooming Prairie

Blooming Prairie Country Club hosted the 29th annual Blooming Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce golf fun day and its men’s club championship this past weekend, providing local golfers with a weekend full of competition and good old-fashioned fun.

Blooming Prairie’s golf fun day kicked off the weekend on Friday before four flights of men's golfers hit the course for two days of competitive action.

Local golfers hit the course at 11 a.m. on Friday and were greeted by clear blue skies and calm winds throughout their rounds.

Making the day even more enjoyable were booths such as Mainstreet Dental’s, where competitors met to enjoy a quick snack and partake in a brief game of flip cup.

The following day, the Blooming Prairie men’s club championship began at 10 a.m.

A field of 31 golfers was split between four divisions consisting of the championship, first, second, and senior flights.

Winning the championship flight was Derek Resler, with round scores of 74 and 76 for a total of 150 and 10 over par.

Taking home the win in the first flight was Steve Hubly with a two-round total of 157 (+17), meanwhile, Wayde Bishop secured the win in the second flight with a total of 171 (+31.)

The senior flight rounded out the tournament and was won by Rich Busho’s score of 159 (+19.)

Owatonna

Owatonna’s Junior City Open took place last week with athletes ranging from four to 18 competing at local courses for their chance at taking home some hardware.

Athletes from three age groupings ranging from four to 12 played their rounds at Havana Hills Golf Course while the 13-18 division played across two days between Brooktree Golf Course and Owatonna Country Club.

Carmen Jirele and Will Hacker earned first place in the girls' and boys’ 13-18 divisions respectively, with Jirele’s 158 and Hacker’s 157 being the low scores of the tournament.

“It feels nice to get the win. I enjoy being able to come out on top in these tournaments, especially the ones in my hometown,” said Jirele.

Winning the girls and boys 10-12 bracket were Danica Hager and Brady Buytaert.

The girls age 7-9 bracket was won by Mackenzie Eyberg, while the boys’ side was won by James Brittain.
Rounding out the tournament was the boys 4-6 division where Jayden Skala took home first place