By Staff

Hollister’s Krysl places first again, Greenwood nabs sectional title

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Story by Shelley Ebbrecht

The area’s top Class 1 female golfers teed off at Whispering Oaks Country Club in Marshfield on Monday for the Class 1, Sectional 2 tournament in hopes of moving on to next week’s state tournament in New Bloomfield.

Makenna Krysl from Hollister shot the day’s best round with a six-over par 76, nabbing the top individual qualifying spot.

“Today, honestly, I just wanted to qualify for state,” Krysl said. “I wasn’t thinking about what place I would get. I did want to beat the 85 I shot in my practice round, but beyond that I did not have any expectations for myself. I just wanted to go out and play.”

Krysl is hitting her stride at the right time, shooting the best round in her district last Monday. She said the key to her game is her consistency.

PHOTOS: CLASS 1 SECTIONAL 2 GOLF

“The front nine I was even the entire time,” she said. “I was pretty consistent overall, just keeping it steady. I try to keep it in the middle of the fairway which keeps me out of trouble most of the time.”

This is Krysl’s third trip to the state Tournament, but her first in Missouri after moving to Hollister from South Dakota with her family this year. She said the competition from her previous district made her a better golfer.

“Back home I was in the most competitive district in the state, so coming here and having a little bit more success has been very fun,” Krysl said.

In the sectional round of girls’ golf, the top two teams and the next top 12 individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to state. Greenwood took first place with a combined score of 371 and Purdy placed second with 379.

This is the fourth trip to state for Greenwood’s senior leader Meredith Sharp, but her first time to qualify with the rest of her team—Katherine Ulmer, Liz Coulter, Annie Gipson and Bailey Wilbur.

“It’s going to be a lot more fun and a new experience for most of the people on our team,” Sharp said.

After a tough stretch on the front nine, Sharp said she had to question whether or not she was going to be moving on in the tournament at all and adjusted her game mid-round.

“I came out and had a good first hole, then after that crashed and burned a little bit,” Sharp said. “I ended up putting away my hybrids, driver and woods and just hit my six iron off the tee and ended up four-over on the back nine after that. I know my game well enough to know what to do when everything starts going wrong.”

CLASS 2 SECTIONAL GOLF ROUNDUP

Coach David Oatman, now in his 35^th year at Greenwood, said this is the best overall group he has seen come through the program and said they have the skills to land a top four finish at the next level.

“I’m so tickled for the team as a whole, but even more tickled for the four seniors on the team,” Oatman said. “I told them the very first day of the season they need to start winning tournaments, start earning medals and start putting it all together because you have the skills to do it.”

Team Results: