4 local golf stars tee off in Women’s State Amateur Championship – Post Bulletin

What: 2024 Women’s State Amateur Championship

Where: Minnewaska Golf Club, Glenwood

When: Monday Wednesday

The course: Par-72; 6,212 yards

Longest hole: No. 14 (480 meters, par 5)

Shortest hole: No. 9 (118 meters, Par 5)

Round 1 start times (local players): Calie Dockter, Byron, 9:40 a.m. (hole #1); Courtney Hershberger, Fountain, 11:40 a.m. (hole #1); Marin Keller, Winona, 1:20 p.m. (hole #1); Ella Matzke, Lake City, 1:10 p.m. (hole #1).

Of interest: Full tee times and results will be posted on MnGolf.org

• • • • •

GLENWOOD, Minn. — In a little over a month, Calie Dockter, Marin Keller and Ella Matzke will bring much of their lives to a college campus as they prepare to become students and golfers.

Less than a month ago, they all ended their high school golf careers with high rankings at a state tournament in Minnesota.

Courtney Hershberger has already completed a year of college golf after a stellar high school career.

The four local stars have something big to do this week before the college season begins. They’re all in the field for the 2024 Minnesota Golf Association Women’s State Amateur Championship at Minnewaska Golf Club in Glenwood.

The 54-hole championship begins Monday morning and runs through Wednesday, with the field being cut by more than half after Tuesday’s second round. The winner of the Women’s State Am also earns an exemption into the Women’s U.S. Amateur, scheduled for Aug. 5-11 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

Below are the four local competitors, in alphabetical order, in this week’s Women’s State Amateur Championship:

• Calie Dockter, Byron: Dockter capped off a stellar high school career at Byron High School last month by placing 10th at the Class 2A high school state meet. She won the Section 1-2A championship this spring, posting an 80.0 average score. Dockter is committed to play at the University of Nebraska Kearney starting this fall. She made the cut at last year’s Women’s State Am, finishing tied for 52nd.

• Courtney Hershberger, Fountain: The former Fillmore Central star had a strong freshman season for Bethel University. Playing 16 rounds in 10 events, Hershberger averaged a score of 83.5. All 16 of her rounds were in the 80s, with a low of 80 and a high of 89. Her best showing was an 11th-place finish at the St. Olaf-Carleton Invitational on April 27. Although she didn’t pick up a club until she was in eighth grade, Hershberger won three Section 1, Class 1A individual championships and helped Fillmore Central advance to state four times as a team.

Joe Ahlquist / Postbulletin

• Marin Keller, Winona: An all-around star athlete at Winona High School, Keller graduated this spring after a six-year varsity golf career and two trips to the state meet. She saved her best for last, placing third in the sectional meet and earning a top-five finish at state this spring, going 80-37-117. She was also named the Region 1 Triple-A (arts, science, track and field) Award winner. Keller plans to play collegiate golf at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, in Rapid City. The three-sport star was a four-year captain in golf, a four-year varsity player in basketball and a two-year varsity regular in volleyball.

• Ella Matzke, Lake City: A cornerstone of four sectional championship teams in Lake City, Matzke will play collegiate golf at Concordia University in St. Paul. She also helped the Tigers win the first two team state titles in program history. Her 80.1 average this spring was third-best among all female golfers in southeastern Minnesota. Matzke, a two-sport athlete, placed fifth individually at the Section 1, Class 2A meet and then was 20th at the Class 2A state meet.