Crookston Pirate Girls golfer Joslynn Leach shot a 92 and is in 36th place out of 87 golfers after the first round of the Minnesota State High School League State Class A Girls Golf Tournament at the Ridges at Sand Creek Golf Course near Jordan.
Joslynn started her round on the 10th hole and double-bogeyed the 461-yard par five. She followed with a bogey before back-to-back triple bogies. Leach settled in and shot a bogey on her sixth hole before recording four pars in a row, three of the holes were 400-plus yards. She bogies the next three holes before she parred her 14th hole of the day. In the last four holes, she shot three bogies and one double bogey for a first-round total of 92, which was 20-over par. “I think she had some nerves. She has been here before, but that was when she was a freshman. Her nerves were showing a bit, her swing wasn’t as smooth as it normally is and she played the backside first, which is tougher,” said Coach Jeff Perreault. “Her second hole, she made a spectacular bogey. I have to give her credit that with a tough start it would be a long day and she has always had the attitude of things will get better and it did. She strung together some pars and finished strong. She finished the round well and trusted her swing and struck the ball well.”
Leach will play the final round of her Pirate career on Tuesday morning on the final day of the Class AA State Golf Tournament. “She will be looking to finish her career with a good round. Her prediction tomorrow is for about an 86 and if she plays like she can, she will be able to get it,” said Coach Perreault. “She is in a good spot and can go out and play stress-free golf.”
She will tee off 7:48 a.m. on the 10th hole on Wednesday.
Perham’s Mallory Belka, a junior, is the first-round leader with a one-over-par 73. The Section 8AA team representative, Fergus Falls, is in second place after the first round. Lake City leads Fergus Falls by 16 strokes.
