Last month’ Beaver Dam High School’s McKenna Nelson won the WIAA Division One State Girls Golf Championship at University Ridge in Madison. Beaver Dam High School golf coach Tim Chase, documented Nelson’s historic run…..
State Record Day
After getting through a loaded sectional field and qualifying for the state tournament and putting in 5 great days preparing for the state tournament, here is a look at how one breaks the state record with a round of 65 at University Ridge.
6:45 a.m. Be the first one at the course for the first tee time at 8:00 am. It is 41 degrees and somewhat windy. After a beautiful fall it is by far the coldest weather the players have played in this year. After going through a normal pre-round range session, she is the only player to go to the lower short game practice area. The club of choice is a 60 degree wedge which is used in the sand and other short game shots. Walk up the hill to the first green. Go inside to get warm. Go outside to putt with about 20 minutes for the first tee time at state on hole 1 at University Ridge.
8:00 am. Holes 1-3. Hole 1 Driver can get you in trouble so hit your rescue perfectly down the middle. Hit the middle of the green and start with a 2 putt par. Hole 2. Usually a good opportunity for birdie but the drive goes way left up the hill and is guarded by trees to the green. After deciding not to think about the option your coach suggests if you want to punch one over the hazard under the trees. Playing the ball back to the fairway is the smart play. Hit a wedge on the green to be about 15 feet and then make a nice birdie putt. Hole 3 downhill par 3. Hit the center of the green 2 putt par. -1 through 3.
8:45 Holes 4-6. Hole 4 is a tough hole. Need to find the fairway first into the wind. 5 iron off the tee. Find the fairway. The hole is right into the wind. Hit a great 6 iron that makes it onto the front of the green. Long first putt to a tap in for par. Hole 5 a par 3 into the wind. A pulled tee shot into the middle of the left bunker leaves a delicate downhill shot. Hits one of her best shots of the day but it rolls out to 8 feet. Misses for the only bogey of the day. Hole 6 downwind par 5. Pulls drive into the left rough. Lie is a little dicey, but hits a great 7 iron just off the green and chips to a tap in for birdie. -1 through 6.
9:30 Holes 7-9 Hole 7 hits a rescue club to a great spot. Wind is playing a little havoc and lands on the front of the green. Tough putt over the ridge. Hits to a good spot and makes the par putt. Hole 8. In practice round day before barely clears the hazard. Takes 5 more yards with club selection. Mishits it to 2 feet. Makes the birdie. Hole 9. Driver can sometimes get you into trouble on this hole. Hits 2 great 3 woods but gets a bad bounce and ends up behind a bunker. Doesn’t hit her best shot, about 17 feet past the hole, but she does make the birdie putt. -3 through 9.
10:20 Go to 10 tee. The state tournament tees off of holes 1 and 10 and often when groups get done with their front they have to wait a bit. The back 9 will be much slower because all the players will now be on the course.
10:40 Holes 10-12. 10 is a challenging par 4. She hits a great drive. Leaves a wedge into the green which she hits pin high to the right and 2 putts for par. 11 turns into an adventure. Driver goes to the right. It is in play but has to hit a punch under the trees. Doesn’t hit it great and still ends up to the right still under trees but closer. Hits a better punch shot but goes over the green to the left. Off a tight light chips to five feet and makes a clutch par putt on the par 5. Hole 12 is straight downhill and straight into the wind. She trusts her swing and hits one pin high left of the pin about 12 feet. 2 putt par. -3 through 12.
11:30 Holes 13-15 After setting a great pace on the front, there is a lot of waiting on each hole on the back. Hole 13 hits a great drive on the uphill par 4. Has a short wedge in but it goes about 10 feet past. Makes the birdie putt. Hole 14 the fairway runs out so hits a 5 iron just to the edge. Not the best wedge but leaves herself just a little off the front of the green. Chips it to 3 feet for par. Hole 15 wind is blowing harder and misses the mark on tee shot and goes into the fairway bunker. Lie is good. Executes her shot well and hits it to 8 feet. Makes the birdie putt. -5 through 15.
12:20 Holes 16-18 The waiting is getting longer. Steps up to the downwind par 5 and hits a 320 yard drive. Wind is playing Havoc and is swirling more. Hits the smart shot about 20 feet right and 2 putts for birdie. Hole 17. Par 3 Wind is blowing more across. Takes the same swing as hole 12 and hits it to 2 feet and makes the birdie putt. Hole 18 going to play a different strategy than the year before. Going to hit Driver as close as possible Lands in greenside bunker. Huge green pin is in the back. Gets ball on the front and 2 putts for par. -7 through 18 for a state record 65 which breaks the University Ridge record by 3 shots.
1:20 verifies scores. Does interviews. Goes and gets some lunch and comes back out to practice putting as the other players are finishing. Need to get ready for Day 2 since it is a 36 hole tournament.
The Day of a Record Breaking Round
Day 2 Winning a State Championship
After shooting a state record 65. Everyone wants to congratulate you and tell you how great a round it was. While true, you still have to come back and play great on Day 2 with only a 3 stroke lead over the person in 2nd. The mindset is to go out and play the best you can, especially since the other person tees off 100 minutes after you do.
7:15 am. With a little later start time you can get to the course a little later. The temperature is colder and the wind has picked up. It is going to be a tough day. She goes through the same practice routine as the day before, but stops a little more to warm up because it is cold.
At 8:30 heads to her first hole of the day which will be hole 10.
Holes 10-12 (1-3) Gets off to a good start hitting a great drive and hitting a good second shot and makes par on a challenging hole location. Hole 11 After going right yesterday goes left and while in a hazard is able to chip back out in the fairway. Leaves her approach just off the green but is not able to get up and down and has a bogey on the par 5. Hole 12. Hits a great shot that goes to the back of the green. Has a good 2 putt and walks away with par. +1 today -6 overall through 3.
Holes 13-15 (4-6) 13 hits a great tee shot but is not able to get up and down for birdie and pars the par 4. Hole 14 hits a great 5 iron again to the fairway. 2nd lands just in the front and she is able to get down in 2 for par. Hole 15 turns into a long hole. Her tee shot is blocked and wind carries it right. It lands on a maintenance road between the hazard lines. After waiting for a rules official to come and give possible options. She was given the option of either hitting her shot off of the hardpan or going back to the tee which would be her 3rd. She elects to play and hits a really good shot back into the fairway. Unfortunately, she does not hit a good 3rd on the short par 4 and puts into a tough spot in the right side bunker. A tough bunker shot that most players would take 2-3 shots to even get out, she hits to 8 feet but is unable to make the putt for her only double bogey of the week. +3 today -4 over through 6.
Holes 16-18. (7-9) The sign of a champion. Hole 16 hits her ball left, it gets through the bunker and sits down in the rough. She hits a great approach shot and is able to get up and down for birdie. Hole 17 the wind is playing Havoc and is swirling. Wind dies on her shot and she is a good 7 yards short of the green. She chips it in for birdie. Hole 18 is downwind and she needs to wait for the green to clear. Today she puts in left of the green and has nice pitch and converts the birdie to get back to even for the day after the double bogey on 15. Even today -7 through 9.
Holes 1-3 (10-12) She hits another rescue off of hole 1 and hits her 2nd to 8 feet but is unable to convert and gets a par. Hole 2 crushes a drive downwind and has 81 yards left on the par 5. Hits her wedge to eight feet but misses the eagle putt and taps in for birdie. The wind is blowing like crazy on the more difficult 9 with the wind conditions. She hits what should be a good shot but the wind takes over and blows it right and short. She chips on but misses her 12 footer for par. Even for today -7 through 12.
Holes 4-6 (13-15) Hole 4 Wind is blowing straight into her. She hits a little more club hitting her rescue to the middle of the fairway. Right is a hazard, miss she aims a little left and it stays and is off the green in a tough tight lie spot. She hits a great shot to 5 feet but misses the par putt and makes a tough come back to save bogey. Hole 5 par 3 also into the wind. Takes 2 clubs more and barely gets on the green. Leaves her first putt short and is unable to make her par putt. Hole 6 the par 5 is downwind and she puts herself in a great spot with a wedge left. Hits the shot pin high about 10 feet right and 2 putts for birdie. +1 for today -6 through 15.
Holes 7-9 (16-18) Hole 7 A lot of wind but hits her rescue into a good spot. Pulls her second to the left side of the green. She almost makes a long putt but has a nice tap in for par. Hole 8 After getting a mishit birdie on Monday, she hits a great shot on the short par 3 and almost gets a hole in one with an easy tap-in for birdie. Hole 9 the wind is blowing like crazy into her and after waiting a long time hits her driver right into the hazard. Someone says it bounced back a bit and she is able to get a good swing on her 2nd and give her a good yardage into the uphill par 5. Her approach gets up to the top where she has a challenging putt. With the wind and the contour of the green it goes about 8 feet past and she is unable to convert the par. 36 hole total 138 new state record. Today +1 73.
After verifying scores, the waiting game starts. She is tied with the other player who has 7 holes left. Getting inside and getting warm is priority #1. The other player falls to -5 but makes a long putt off the green on 16 to pull back to -6 and even. Time to get warmed up for a possible play-off. The other player has a good look on 17 but doesn’t convert and has a long putt to win on 18 but leaves it 4 feet short. She makes this putt and a play-off is soon to come.
After a short wait the plan is to play a loop of holes 1 and 9 until someone is ahead. McKenna draws first and gets a 1 so she will hit first on hole 1. She hits her rescue like she has all week to the middle of the fairway on the tough opening hole that is downwind. Her competitor hits driver and it carries left. The rules official is looking for the ball as McKenna walks down the fairway. McKenna can see the other player has trouble. McKenna takes little time and hits her wedge to the center of the green with the pin in the back about 20 feet away. Her competitor has to take a penalty drop and hits her 3rd to 15 feet left and short. McKenna stays in her putting routine and hits a good putt about a foot past. Her competitor will have to make to force another hole. She misses to the right and McKenna taps in her 16 inch putt to become the 2024 Wisconsin Girls High School Champion.
Thanks to Tim Chase for his documentation on this historic event
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