This year’s Class 4 state golf tournament didn’t have the happy ending of 2012 for Republic. A year after Dylan Bekemeier won the Class 3 state title, he and teammate Beau Allen both came up just short of the all-state cut after two days of competition. Bekemeier shot a 154, one stroke from all-state recognition, and Allen shot a 155.

For Allen, it was a rough start on Day One that put him in a hole–literally–that he couldn’t quite dig out of. He was six over par after five holes, but says that wasn’t indicative of how he was playing.

“I had some really unfortunate lies yesterday, just hitting it perfect to the fairway and being in the foot-tall grass, hitting a few trees, and my ball ended up in a couple of holes, but I was striking the ball well, so when I got back to the second nine, I played a lot better.”

Over the final 31 holes, Allen shot a +5, which would have been enough to put him in contention without the tough start.

Despite his struggles on Monday (+6), Bekemeier was in striking distance of a second straight all-state selection until late Tuesday afternoon. He says he was disappointed with the way he handled windy conditions during his final nine holes.

“It was just pretty much however you can handle yourself (in the wind),” says Bekemeier. “I did good on the first nine, but on the back, it just got to me and I didn’t handle it as good as I could have.”

Bekemeier’s double-bogey on the final hole — caused not by the wind, but by a crazy bounce that sent the ball into a water hazard — knocked him from a tie for 13th to a tie for 18th.

Allen finished in a tie for 24th.

Two golfers shared championship honors: Patrick Byrne of Rockhurst and Matthew Mueller of Vianney. Their score was 146.

Republic’s two entrants in the Class 4 state golf tournament ended up in the same place, but they got there in very different ways. Both Dylan Bekemeier and Beau Allen finished the day with scores of 77, eight strokes off the lead at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield.

For Allen, a rough start put him in a hole that he had to dig his way out of. He found himself six-over par after five holes. But he turned it around after that, shooting under par the rest of the way to keep himself in the top 20 after the first day.

Bekemeier, who won the Class 3 championship last year at Rivercut, started well, shooting just one-over par on the first nine holes, before hitting a rough spot in the afternoon. He had shot even-par last year on Day One of the championship, but he was +5 on his final nine holes Monday.

Adam Lechner of Kearney posted a 69 to lead the field. Zac Dittmer of Liberty is second, with a 71.

Allen and Bekemeier are tied for 18th.

When Class 3 defending state golf champion Dylan Bekemeier went into the clubhouse at sectionals with a score of 81, he wasn’t sure he’d even have a chance to defend his title next week.

Not only did Bekemeier qualify, he’ll have some company joining him this time around. Beau Allen shot an 80, one shot better than Bekemeier, sending him to the Class 4 state tournament at Rivercut Golf Course.

Among the two Tiger golfers, Bekemeier was off the course first. But at +9, he had to wait for the rest of the field to finish before finding out where the cut-line would fall. By the time Allen finished late in the day with an 80 (+3), he had also advanced, despite a tough day at Columbia’s Eagle Knoll Golf Course.

Baron Weaver of Glendale won the tournament with a +3.

The state tournament will be held next Monday and Tuesday. Rivercut is the same course where Bekemeier won the Class 3 state championship last year.

The Republic golf team finished second at Silo Ridge in Bolivar today, just three strokes behind the host Liberators. Bolivar took the team championship on its home course with a 322, and Republic finished at 325.

Dylan Bekemeier led the Tigers with a 4th place individual finish, scoring a 77. Beau Allen finished one stroke behind Bekemeier, in 6th place, with a 78.