It was fitting that Minnetonka junior Ben Sigel was the one holding the Class 3A boys' state golf trophy Wednesday. With his medalist honors, he donned two gold medals around his neck, too.
"It's nice," Sigel said. "Awesome to be a state champion."
Sigel gave himself a commanding lead with a 67 first round and he ended with a par 72 for 139 total at the Class 3A boys' golf tournament at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids. Sigel was 3-under through 14 holes of that first round Tuesday before play was suspended because of weather. It was hard to sleep on the lead, he said, but he got a couple birdies when play resumed the next morning.
"I think I handled it well," Sigel said. "Really tried to stay in the moment.
"It definitely made things easier knowing that I had six shots to work with," Sigel said. "But really I was looking at lengthening the lead and just having the same mindset as I did yesterday."
He didn't do as well his final round, though it didn't matter on the scorecard. He missed a few greens but got up and down for the most part, he said.
"The back nine was a bit of a grind," Sigel said.
Minnetonka won the team title, become the fourth Lake Conference school to win it in the past four years. The Skippers shot 297 each day, for a combined 594, a 13-stroke victory over Lakeville South.
Sigel had a six-stroke victory margin over Simley senior Harrison Cooper, who finished his second round with a 69, putting him as the overall leader until Sigel's final score came in. Cooper made a long birdie putt on the 9th hole to move him to 2-under par, leaving him in a good position.
"But after you see somebody shoot a 67, that's a really great score," said Cooper,who took second place with a 145.
