Phillips County News - One Nation, Under God

A few days prior to the 2019 Northern B Divisional Golf Meet, two Malta golfers placed in the top ten at the Harlem Invitational on Friday, May 3.

Mustang Hayden VanWichen took first place among the boys’ golfers with a score of 95, while M-ette Camryn Messerly took ninth place with a score of 116.

“Hayden has been playing really consistent golf for us all season,” Malta Head Coach Travis Somerfeld said. “He has been shooting consistently mid-90s all season so that's been a pretty good sign. Camryn has also been a very consistent golfer this year as well she has been shooting in the mid-110s all season which is about 10 strokes better than her last year’s average.”

Heading into the Divisional meet, Malta will field a varsity boys and girls team, giving those golfers a chance to qualify for state individually and as a team.

“Our boys team consists of Grayson Waters, Miles Bunk, Ezra Judd, and Hayden VanWichen,” Coach Somerfeld said. “Our girls team consists of Kloie Marks, Reba Doucette, Jordan Markuson, Camryn Messerly and Tamela Abrahamson.”

Coach Somerfeld is optimistic of both team’s chances to make the state meet, which takes place in Missoula from Monday, May 13 to Wednesday, May 15.

“I think both teams have a shot of making it to state,” Coach Somerfeld said. “Both teams would have to play extremely well, but we’ve got a shot. I think with us being familiar with the Wolf Point golf course that will play to our advantage. So hopefully we can get a team or two qualified.”

Prior to the divisional meet the team played a practice round of golf in Wolf Point, at the Airport Golf Course.

“Wolf Point is a funny course and the kids are going to enjoy playing it,” Coach Somerfeld said. “To start off there are trees on many of the holes that cause kids troubles.”

He went on to say that every hole has an out of bounds area to the left and that has been problematic.

“The course has a tough par 3 that is uphill and you have no room to miss on either side of the green,” Coach Somerfeld said “My favorite holes are 9 and 18. The green is tucked back into some trees and you have to hit a blind approach shot into the green.”

2019 has proven to be a year of firsts for many on the Malta Squad, and despite having to learn the game, Coach Somerfeld is proud of his young team’s development.

“This year we had a bunch of golfers who have never played before so there was a lot of room for improvement,” Coach Somerfeld said. “It is fun to watch how much kids improve over the course of a season. It is not only about improving at the game of golf but also learning the rules and etiquette of the game. Our younger kids really excelled at learning the rules and etiquette of the game of golf.”

Coach Somerfeld admitted that it is hard to improve at golf during the regular season due to the fact there isn’t much time, so he has directed his team to practice in the off season.

“Coach (Katie) Webb and I just tell our players that if they want to become good at golf they need to be playing during the summer,” Coach Somerfeld said. “That is the only way to really become a great golfer.”