MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – Des Lacs-Burlington girls’ golf has gotten better and better throughout the season, and the Lakers are preparing for another strong outing at next week’s Class B state tournament.
DLB broke program records for team scoring at nearly every meet this fall, continuing the momentum from last year’s fourth-place finish at state, the highest in program history.
Defending individual state champion Laila Christianson and senior Ava Walen talked about what has contributed to the team consistently improving up and down the lineup.
“I’ve been working really hard all summer, and I know our team has been as well, just playing in tournaments and really grinding on the short game,” said Christianson.
“We’ve really improved on our chipping. We worked a lot at [Jack Hoeven] Wee Links and the Rudy [Zupetz facility] at Souris. We’ve really been working on our 20-yard, 40-yard and 60-yard shots. That’s really where the game comes down to is your chipping and putting,” said Walen.
The state tournament is at Pheasant Country Golf Course in South Heart, the same location as the two-day East-West Classic at the start of the season.
Walen outlined the benefits of already playing 36 holes on the course this year.
“It’s great to be able to know what the course is like, seeing that the East-West Classic has been there for the last two years. It’s fun to be able to kind of know what the holes are like. Especially the grass on that course, it’s so thick and so different from our home course, Wildwood. It’s good to practice there and to kind of know what’s up with the grass and how fast the greens are and everything,” said Walen.
The two-day tournament tees off at 10 a.m. on Monday.
Other KMOT-area teams competing are Kenmare-Bowbells, Bottineau, Rugby and South Prairie-Max, plus individuals from Velva, Nedrose and Garrison.
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