Bulldog Golfers Just Short of Qualifying for State as a Team, Showalter Qualifies as Individual

ORANGE CITY - The Hampton-Dumont-Cal boys’ golf team finished runner-up in the North Central Conference and runner-up at the sectional golf tournament, qualifying for the May 15 district meet at Orange City.

Michael Showalter earned a state tournament bid, shooting 77 and finishing ninth individually in the district meet. Other Bulldog golfers included seniors Tommy Birdsell and Will Sackville as well as juniors Tucker Heeren, Carter Heilskov and Cole Rodemeyer. Birdsell shot an 80, Heeren 82 and Rodemeyer with 85 while Sackville shot a scratched score of 91 and Heilskov a 101.

The Bulldogs and Spencer tied for third in the team race with rounds of 324, though Spencer took the spot in the standings based on a lower fifth score than the Bulldogs had. That was the difference in determining the final state berth from the district, with host school MOC-Floyd Valley winning the district with a round of 287 and Gilbert shooting 307. Because the host school was one of the top two, a third team qualified for state.

  Showalter shot a 12-over-par 84 on the first day of the Class 3A state tournament at Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames, standing in a 26th-place tie with 18 holes left to play.