JAMESTOWN, N.D. — Kindred’s Parker Bartels birdied the final two holes of the North Dakota Class B state boys golf tournament at Jamestown Country Club, winning his first state championship Wednesday.
Fargo Oak Grove’s Grayson Wetch parred the 507-yard, par-5 17th before closing out with a three-putt bogey on 18 to finish three strokes off the lead in second at 9-over 153 after 36 holes. Bartels, who lost last year’s state title by one stroke to teammate Mark Olson, fired 2-up on the afternoon to finish at 6-over 150.
The effort spurred Kindred to a second straight team title. The Vikings sailed by 24 strokes over Oak Grove at 49-over 625.
“It’s pretty surreal at the moment,” Bartels said. “I’m just happy that I finally came up on top after just losing by one last year.”
Bartels and Wetch were even at plus 4 through 34 holes, after Wetch birdied the 16th to draw the pair level with two to play. But the Oak Grove sophomore sent his tee shot left of the 17th fairway, forcing a second-stroke punch shot to avoid a tree.
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Wetch's third shot on 17 sailed to the back of the green and he narrowly missed a 40-foot birdie putt before saving par.
“I had some trees blocking me towards the hole, so I just punched out middle of the fairway,” Wetch said. “I think the adrenaline was pumping a little bit. Hit a pitching wedge long and two-putted. Parker made a great birdie.”
Bartel’s first two shots on 17 placed him approximately 20 yards from the pin. A chip shot from the front of the green set up an easy birdie.
“I knew if he was in a little bit of trouble I just had to somehow find the fairway and I did,” Bartels said. “(The chip) rolled out perfectly to about pin-high, just three feet left and I made the putt. After that I was like, ‘Well, here we go. You just can’t make a bogey,’”
Wetch was on the 18th green in two after recovering from another wide-left tee shot, but he was unable to get his putter to cooperate. Bartels was on cruise control by then, sealing the championship with an eight-foot birdie putt on the 384-yard, par-4 finale.
“You could tell when the putt went in on the 18th hole how bad he wanted it,” said Kindred boys golf coach Perry Piatz. “He remembered last year, obviously, losing by one. But to go birdie, birdie to finish, he stepped up his game. I’m pretty proud of him.”
Bartels and Wetch began the day in four-way tie at 4 over with Olson and Oak Grove’s Scott Boehning. Olson finished in a tie for third with Mayville-Portland's Nicholas Dale at 11 over, while Boehning came in fifth at 12 over.
The team championship was Kindred’s sixth in nine seasons. Kindred’s Sam Henke finished in a tie for seventh at 15 over, and teammates Max McQuillan (17 over) and Paul Olson (18 over) placed just outside the top 10.
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Kindred will return its entire team in 2020. Bartels, Olson and Henke are juniors.
“Like I said last year, they’re golf junkies,” Piatz said. “They’re all the greatest of friends, but they’re competitors too. When you got kids that enjoy each other and are cohesive it makes it easy for me.”
