Class 1A golf: For Mounds Park's Bliese, there's good sharing and bad sharing

Precocious Brock Bliese of Mounds Park Academy had company atop the leaderboard at Wednesday's Class 1A boys' golf tournament, some welcome and some not.

Bliese, a freshman, led the Panthers to their first state championship since 2006. They shot a 622 and bettered the field at Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker by 12 strokes.

The outright individual state champion a year ago, Bliese settled for co-medalist honors this time. He and Ryan Pederson, a junior at United South Central, each shot a two-day score of 146.

"It is a little bittersweet, but first place is first place," Bliese said.

Three putts on the final hole hurt Bliese's bid to stand alone. He led the field with a 2-under-par 70 on the first day.

"That was heartbreaking," Bliese said. "It's always to fun to win. To share is still fun but not as great as winning yourself."

Sharing a team title, however, was a blast.

"It was a lot more fun," Bliese said. "I had all my buddies with me; we're staying in a hotel, having fun, going out to eat. It's just a treat."

Winning was a team effort for the Maplewood-based school. Senior Matt Ehren, the team's fourth golfer, carded an 80 on the first day to help ensure the Panthers' two-stroke lead.

Bliese, junior Dylan Merchant (tied for ninth), freshman Matt Berning (12th) and Ehren (T-42nd) finished as the Panthers' top four.

"It's great for our seniors because they haven't had a chance to play this tournament," Merchant said. "It's also a sense of relief. We knew we had the chance to do this, up by two after the first day."

The advice of Kiera Smith's offseason golf instructor rang true at the Class 1A girls' championships.

"He said, 'If you go out and double a hole, let it go and go get a birdie on the next hole,' " said Smith, a sophomore at Heritage Christian Academy in Maple Grove.

Sure enough, first-hole jitters Wednesday led Smith to card a double bogey. She recovered and posted back-to-back birdies later in the round.

"He sure did a good job teaching me because it worked," Smith said.

Resilience led Smith, who tied for third last year, to medalist honors at Pebble Creek Golf Club. Her two-day score of 153 beat second-place Kayla Ruf of Legacy Christian Academy by five.

Ruf had to settle for leading the Andover-based school to its third consecutive state title. Ruf and teammates Sophie Gray, Jillian Johnson and Lindsey McAlpin combined for a 679 and became the first Class 1A champion to go under 700 since 2011.

"Kayla and Sophie were like, 'I'm so proud of you,' and I said, 'I'm so proud of you, too,' " said Smith, who golfs with the duo in conference and section play plus rounds in the summer.

Ruf, a sophomore, embodied the Lions' drive to a third title. Throughout the winter she would leave school, drive about an hour to Minnetonka to swing golf clubs indoors, then drive back for basketball practice.

The grind produced a stronger, more confident player.

"My mental game is completely different," Ruf said. "When I walk up to a ball, I know I'm going to stick it on the green. There isn't any doubt."