Blooming Prairie’s Braaten Leads State Golf Tournament After First Round

Blooming Prairie senior Tommy Braaten had a spectacular opening round at the state Class A golf tournament, setting a school record and grabbing the tournament lead.

Braaten shot 68, shattering the previous Blooming Prairie school mark of 71. Braaten's score is good for a four-shot lead with the final round of the event Wednesday at Pebble Creek in Becker. BP coach Cory Hendrickson said, "Tommy was dialed in all day. He always hits his irons well and today his putter was working as well. It was fun to watch."

Blooming Prairie is sixth in the team standings with 347, eight strokes out of fifth. Mahnomen leads the boys standings with 316. Sleepy Eye United is second at 330. BP's score includes Braaten's 68, Jake Ressler with 91, Lucas Noble at 93 and Colin Jordison's 95.

Hendrickson said, "Our other golfers had some struggles. We found too many bunkers and had too many three-putts. The good news is that our boys feel like the can and will play better" in Wednesday's final round.

In the girls tournament, Awesome Blossom senior Taylor Christianson is sixth with 81. Hendrickson said, "She really only had one bad hole all day, a triple bogey on the fifth hole. Taylor is very strong off the tee, but today her short game was outstanding as well. She put herself in great position going into the final round (Wednesday)." The top golfer shot 74 Tuesday.

Owatonna senior Andrew Wall is tied for 56th with an 81 during the first round at Bunker Hills. Triton sophomore Shelby Maloney shot 96 at The Ridges at Sand Creek of Jordan and is tied for 50th place.The tournaments wrap up Wednesday.