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Dells Junior Championship
(Marty Swab & Kyle Wille)
(Caylie Kotlowski, Rachel Kauflin, Grace Suter)
Then, consider this week’s inaugural Dells Junior Championship a success on all counts, as the boys overall title was determined in a playoff won by Kyle Wille of Edgerton, and Rachel Kauflin of Wauwatosa won the girls championship going away. And one more thing: Summertime showed up right on cue for the final round, held in balmy, upper 80-degree conditions on Tuesday.
This first Dells Junior Championship, held at Wild Rock GC and Trappers Turn, was added to an already crowded summer schedule in Wisconsin, so the event competed for the state’s top junior players. Qualifying events were also held this week for the Wisconsin State Amateur Championship and an American Junior Golf Association tournament, but 80 players still showed up in the Dells.
Wille, who recently turned 18 and is playing his last summer of junior golf, said he chose to play the Dells Junior Championship because it fit in his schedule, which recently included an international trip.
“I went to Puerto Rico for 10 days on a mission trip with my church, and I just got back,” Wille said Tuesday afternoon. “I’ve only been back for four days, and I didn’t trust my game enough to try for the State Amateur.”
After an up and down first round Monday at Trappers Turn – featuring two double bogeys, an eagle and just six pars – Wille found more consistency Tuesday at Wild Rock. After his only blemish of the day, a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 12th hole where he had tree trouble, Wille found himself four strokes behind Marty Swab of Menomonee Falls with four holes to play.
However, Swab stumbled coming in, going 3 over on his final four holes, and Wille was able to forge the tie thanks to a key chip-in for birdie from the fringe on the 17th hole.
Wille admits he played conservatively in his short playoff with Swab, held on Wild Rock’s par-5 14th hole. He hit driver off the tee, but his shot went slightly left into the rough. He wedged out from there, leaving about 50 yards to the green. His approach ended up 12 feet from the hole, and he two-putted for a par and the win.
Swab missed the green and ended up in some long fescue, leading to bogey.
“I played pretty conservative (on the playoff hole),” he said. “I just didn’t want to make bogey. I mean, he was beating me by four with four holes to go, so I was just happy to be in that playoff.”
Wille, who recently graduated from Edgerton High School and will play golf this fall at Iowa Central, shot 78-73–151. Swab shot 76-75–151. Cameron Frisch of Middleton finished third overall (80-76–156).
Meantime, the 16-year-old Kauflin took a commanding seven-stroke lead into the finale after her fine round of 73 on Monday at Wild Rock, which included two birdies and an eagle. She closed with a 76 Tuesday at Trappers Turn to finish at 149, which was 10 strokes clear of overall runner-up Caylie Kotlowski of Stoughton (83-76–159). Grace Suter of Oconomowoc (80-82–162) finished third overall.
“Today was a solid, almost boring, round of golf,” Kauflin said Tuesday. “I hit a lot of fairways and greens, and two-putted a lot of holes. It was a very steady day.”
The highlight of Monday’s round at Wild Rock was Kauflin’s eagle on the par-5 10th hole, where she holed out from 68 yards with a sand wedge. Kauflin couldn’t see the hole from her place in the fairway, but she knew it went in when her dad and other greenside spectators reacted to the ball rolling into the cup.
“That was really fun at that point in the round to kick-start things,” she said.
Champions were also crowned Tuesday in age/gender categories.
Tyson Sparks of Muskego won the Boys 12-13 age division after shooting 86-74–160. Luke Taebel of Holmen finished second with scores of 95-82–177.
Kaeden Nomm of Minocqua birdied three of his final four holes Tuesday to earn medalist honors in the Boys 14-15 age division. Nomm shot 77 Tuesday to go with his 83 on Monday and finished at 160. Charlie Erlandson of Verona, who shot 85-80–165, finished second.
Wille won the Boys 16-18 title over Swab to go along with his overall title.
Girls competed in the Dells Junior Championship in two age groups.
Sarah Balding of Brookfield won the Girls 14-15 age division with scores of 82-85. Kailey White of Frankfurt, Ill., finished second, shooting 83-85–168.
Kauflin won the Girls 16-18 category to go along with her overall title, followed by Kotlowski.
The Dells Junior Championship, sponsored by American Family Insurance, is expected to be an annual event going forward.
(Augusta, GA – Sunday, April 7, 2024) Two young ladies represented Wisconsin at the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals. McKenna Nelson and Taytum Oswald are enjoying the grounds of Augusta National today during the Monday practice round. The coolest part? They both will be bringing hardware back home after stellar performances in their respective age divisions. 2024 marks a special year – it has been exactly one decade since the USGA, PGA of America and The Masters Tournament conceived a one-of-a-kind skills competition where boys and girls all over the country set out to advance through qualifying stages in hopes of competing at Augusta National during Masters week. What’s even more special? McKenna Nelson, the 2023 Wisconsin State Golf Association’s Player of the Year, is the first Wisconsin junior to be crowned Champion at the DCP Finals. For starters, her 262-yard-drive was amongst four golfers in her age group that shattered the previous record for longest drive at the Finals (251 yards). Next up: chipping – followed by putting on the 18th green. Chipping proved to be troublesome for a few competitors, including Nelson, but she was quick to bounce back. She put together a solid second chip and headed to the putting competition knowing she “wanted to put herself in a good place where she (thought) she could do it (win).” (Clip from Golf Channel’s Kira K. Dixon below). Long story short, she needed to land both the 15-footer and 30-footer within 3.5 feet. The 30-foot putt is first in the rotation – McKenna’s attempt fell within 2’7″ of the hole. The Beaver Dam native rolled the 15 -footer a mere 8″ from the cup to capture first place. A sigh of relief? Certainly. All the hard work paid off. She was just a few minutes away from the trophy ceremony. Taytum (Oswald) finished third overall in the Girls 10-11 age division. The Beloit native placed 3rd and 2nd, respectively, in the driving and chipping disciplines but fell short in putting. Her brother, Trey Oswald, caddied for her during the competition. For Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals results – click here.
The purpose of the WPGA Junior Foundation scholarship program is to assist graduating high school and college students in financing their college education. There are 2 separate scholarship forms. One is for graduating high school seniors and the other is for current college students. Please choose the appropriate one. In 2023, the WPGA Junior Foundation awarded 33 scholarships totaling $65,000. We anticipate awarding even more in 2024. All applications will be taken online. Please make sure you have your transcripts and letters of recommendations forms available to attach to your application online. High School Applicants - Click Here to apply online College Applicants - Click Here to apply online Deadline for both scholarship applications is April 24, 2024. #LendAHand Scholarship #LendAHand was created with the goal of helping those in need to get back on the golf course and playing in events throughout the state. We recognize the many financial hardships families continue to endure and we want to give back! Thanks to the help of our donors, we are able to offer accepted applicants up to $100 towards tournament registration fees. Apply here
Check out the Year in Review from our 2023 Junior season
We are hiring interns for the 2024 season