GRAND FORKS — In the harsh weather at King’s Walk, the top players often find a way to fight through the whipping winds.
Rose Solberg of Fargo Davies was as consistent as she had ever been on Wednesday, shooting a career low five-under 67.
Solberg sat roughly 20 feet under the 18th hole with an already stellar round clinched. To top it off, she sank the putt that seemed locked on the whole way.
“It’s about the mindset,” Solberg said. “It’s windy and cold out here, but at least we’re not at school. Just thinking about the good things.”
Solberg’s focus was on hitting those low shots in order to stay under the wind. That’s fit for a links course like King’s Walk, where low runners can roll a long way if hit correctly.
It’s Solberg’s third individual victory in four meets as she looks to chase down Zoe Keene as the East Region’s leading scorer. Davies, as a squad, has consistently been riding in the fourth-place spot in the East standings, looking for an opportunity to catapult ahead of Shanley, Red River and West Fargo Sheyenne when given the chance.
On Tuesday, Davies shot a 353, which ended up being 19 strokes behind Shanley and 33 behind Red River. Sheyenne, for the eighth-consecutive meet, was victorious with a 305.
“As a team, we want to go to state,” Solberg said. “You never know with the teams behind you. I just try to stay as consistent as possible with my team so we can make it to state.”
Leading the way for the Mustangs was Payton Stocker, who just missed out on the chance of an even 72 round. Her bogey on the par-five 18 didn’t ruin any chances of upsetting the win as each Sheyenne starter finished in the Top 20. Zoe and Ava Keene rounded out the top five with a 75 and 76, respectively.
All year long, the Mustangs have been setting the bar for the region, but as they learned last year, the last tournament of the year can have any outcome.
“They’re going to play as best as they can and we’re going to do the same,” Stocker said. “Last year, yeah, we unfortunately had a bad outcome but it’s just about playing the game how you want to play it. I think this year we just need to stay calm and keep our composure.”
After a stretch of finishing in third, including at Grand Forks Country Club, Red River has since bounced back with three straight second-place finishes.
Ella Speidel finished second individually with a 72. Alexis Fabian shot 77 and Lauren Soholt was at 79.
The Riders also had two other top-40 finishers in Ellie Greenberg (96) and Brooke Evans (92).
While the top players are seasoned to the wind at the Arnold Palmer-designed course, newcomers for Red River were able to overcome the elements. Evans’ 92 was her lowest score of the season.
“One of the hardest things for (newcomers) is to feel you’ve made a jump, and now that’s actually who you are versus I’m just playing well today,” Red River coach Eric Sanders said. “(Brooke) said ‘Oh, I’m really killing it today,’ and I said ‘That’s just who you are now.’ You can’t go out there and be beyond who you think you are.”
At the top, Speidel’s round included six birdies. What started with back-to-back birdies on one and two was met with four bogeys on the front half. After making the turn, she locked in with three consecutive birdies on holes 10, 11 and 12.
On 11, she nearly drove the green for an easy birdie and followed up on 12 by getting up and down from heavy rough. She would later successfully drive the green on 17 for her sixth birdie of the round.
“She looks at it as ‘Ok, I’m in control of this’ and gets the next one,” Sanders said. “When she is playing her best, it looks like nothing can faze her, but it actually goes the other way. Nothing fazes her, and that’s what makes her play her best.”
Digital Content Producer and Sports Reporter at the Grand Forks Herald since December of 2020. Maxwell can be contacted at mmarko@gfherald.com.
