36 holes to golf glory

For the next two days, or the next 36 holes, nine members of the Havre High golf teams will be at the pinnacle of their season, and for that matter their young golfing careers. Simply put, these nine HHS golfers have reached the top. And now it’s all about what they do while they’re there.

The nine Blue Pony boys and girls who qualified will play in the 2014 Class A state golf tournament Friday and Saturday at the Hamilton Country Club. The Pony boys will be competing only for individual honors after they finished third at last week’s Central A Divisional in Bozeman, while the HHS girls will be competing for team and individual honors after finishing a stellar second in the Central A.

“This is the ultimate goal for high school golfers,” said HHS head coach Brett Gilman. “This is where all of them were trying to get to this season. And now that it’s here, hopefully they’ll go out and have a lot of fun just playing golf.”

At the beginning of the season, and even last week, the Havre High boys had ideas of competing for a trophy at the state tournament. But the Ponies struggled in the wet and cold conditions at last weekend’s Central A tournament, and didn’t qualify as a team. Still, Havre got four golfers through to the state tournament, and it’s the same four who made it to state last year in Polson.

Those four golfers, juniors Jeff Miller and Jerod Boles, and sophomores Dustin Haas and Kane Gabrielsen, are looking to turn around a tough 18 holes in Bozeman and to play their best 36 holes of the season this weekend in Hamilton. While only the eight teams that qualified from the four divisional tournaments can compete for a team score, Gilman said all four of his golfers are capable of putting up good scores in Hamilton and earning All-State honors in the process.

“I think every one of them is capable of getting in the Top 15,” Gilman said. “They’ve all shot those kinds of scores at one point or another this season. My hope is, they put last weekend behind them, and they go out and just get back to relaxing and playing golf. There’s no pressure on any of them now.”

Miller and Boles are making their third straight appearance at the state tournament, and both golfers have been HHS’s top golfer throughout this season, and at different points during the past two. They have a wealth of state tournament knowledge between them, and this weekend could be a big one for both of them. Last year, Miller finished just inside the Top 25 at state as did Boles, so they will be looking to move well up the leader board this weekend. Haas and Gabrielsen also played at the state meet a year ago, and will draw on that experience to help them this weekend as well. Haas has been Havre’s No. 1 scorer on average this season and has posted some extremely good rounds. Gabrielsen has done well as well, and if he is on his game, he could easily fit into the Top 15, too.

As for the team picture on the boys side, Hamilton, Anaconda and Whitefish are strong contenders. The host Broncs have the biggest advantage as they will play on their home course for the next two days, and that will certainly be a factor. Sidney, Laurel and Polson could also factor into things as well, while Central A champion Lewistown will try to make some noise, too.

While the Havre boys aren’t competing for a trophy this weekend, the Blue Pony girls are, though the young HHS squad might not quite be ready to take that step. Havre had a strong showing at the Central A, but still, three of the four Ponies playing this weekend are first-year varsity players, and the state tournament is a big, big stage.

Still, for young Regan Lammers, Jordan Keith, Mackenzie Tilleman and Grace Litzinger, the next two days of golf will be nothing but a great experience according to Gilman.

“This will be a great learning experience for them,” Gilman said. “They will get to see what state is like, get to play with some solid golfers and just the overall whole experience of a state tournament. It’s going to be great for them, and I’m really excited that they get to experience all of it.”

Junior Randi Gabrielsen has experienced it before, and though she shot a disappointing 107 at the Central A, Gabrielsen comes into this weekend’s tournament looking for individual honors. She has posted plenty of good rounds this season, rounds that would be good enough to get her to the All-State plateau, and with her vast state golf experience to draw on, she’s certainly capable of getting there this weekend.

“Randi has been our leader all year,” Gilman said. “She’s done a really good job with that. She’s been here before too, so she knows what the state tournament is all about. She knows what to expect.”

In the race for team honors, the girls field will feature Hamilton, which should battle with Whitefish and Billings Central for the top spot. Browning, the Central A champion could also be in the hunt for trophy honors, too.

Though trophies and medals are the goal of everyone who tees it up at the state tournament, just playing the two best rounds of the year are what every golfer is striving to achieve this weekend in Hamilton, and Gilman says his Blue Ponies are no different.

“This tournament is what they’ve all been working hard for all season long,” Gilman said. “It’s exciting. It’s the ultimate goal, for these kids to get here. And now it’s just about going out and playing golf.”

The 2014 Class A state tournament gets underway with the opening round at the Hamilton Country Club at 10 a.m. Friday morning. The final round will tee off at the same time Saturday morning.