Bekemeier fought back to -3 through 15 holes, then sank a 60- to 70-footer for birdie on 16. He is back at 4-under par for the tournament.
Through 12 holes, Bekemeier stands at -1. No word on the rest of the field.
Update 2: Bekemeier is -3 at the clubhouse turn. Nine holes to go.
Update: Bekemeier birdied four of the first six holes on Day Two. That puts him at -4 overall. The leaders to start the day had dropped to even par at last report. I don’t have a full report of everyone’s scores, but based on the scores of the leader group, Bekemeier was the leader with 12 holes to play.
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Republic’s Dylan Bekemeier is just two strokes off the lead heading into the final day of the Class Three state golf tournament in Springfield.
Bekemeier shot an even par 72 to finish the opening round tied for third in the Class 3 field. He was the leader among his foursome for much of the day.
“I’m very happy with the way I played today. I just want to stay around the same tomorrow,” says Bekemeier. “Going into the tournament I knew there would be a lot of talent here.
After one round, Gordon Hamilton of Pembroke Hill is the leader with a score of 70. Kevin D. VandeKamp of Westminster Christian Academy shot a 71, and is in second place. Bekemeier is tied with four others at 72.
“Being two shots off the lead and having a chance to win it was not the first thing on my mind. I went out there, focused, made some putts, and found myself in third.”
The tournament got underway with perfect weather on its opening day, with temperatures in the 70s, sunshine, and almost no wind. Partly because of the ideal weather, scores were much lower this year than during last year’s opening round at Silo Ridge in Bolivar.
Bekemeier had fallen to two over par through the first half of the course, but birdied the 10th hole to improve to +1. He also birdied the 12th hole to pull even. He fell to +1 again before a late birdie pulled him back to even par for the day.