BLUE EARTH — The six degrees of separation theory aptly applies when describing how a high school baseball player eventually evolved into the head coach of a state-bound boys golf team.

When Blue Earth Area eighth-grade phenom Braden Gudahl tees off of No. 10 at The Ridges @ Sand Creek golf course in Jordan in the final Class AA team foursome at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, Bucs mentor Travis Armstrong will have come full circle.

“One summer when I was going to college, I started working at Riverside (Town & Country Club), and basically, I got a free membership as an employee,” said Armstrong, who guided his youthful six-player lineup to the school’s first state team appearance since 2005. “I learned to play the sport, and eventually started playing summer league on Thursdays with Shawn Gudahl.

“Joe Lane, (Bucs eighth-grader) Manning’s grandpa, turned my slice around, and I’ve been golfing ever since. Everything I know about the sport, I probably learned from the Gudahl and Lane families.”

Now, Armstrong is returning the favor by imparting his knowledge of the game to a couple of second-generation Buc golfers to qualify for the Minnesota State High School League’s state meet.

Seventh-grader Nathan Murphy tees off of No. 10 at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at Sand Creek, followed by sophomore Tate Thielfoldt at 7:39 a.m., freshman Gaven Bruellman nine minutes later, eighth-grader Manning Lane at 7:57 a.m., sophomore Hunter Spencer nine minutes after that, and finally, Braden Gudahl.

Ironically, Braden Gudahl, who carded a team-best two-day total of 159 to help guide Blue Earth Area to the Section 2AA team championship, has multiple family connections to the Bucs’ two Class A state crowns in 1993 and 1995.

Shawn Gudahl, Braden’s father, shot a two-day total of 176 as a sophomore to net 63rd place overall and sixth on the Bucs’ first state championship team — a 642-655 margin over runner-up Roseau — in 1993.

But the family connections do not end there as Jason Lloyd, one of Braden’s uncles, earned a fourth-place state medal by firing a team-leading score of 153. Aaron Gudahl, another uncle, placed 14th overall with a third team-best mark of 161.

Two years later, Shawn Gudahl penciled in a 157 to tie for 20th overall as he and Ryan Borris (156, tie for 18th place) helped the Bucs share the 1995 Class A state golf title with Rochester Lourdes with identical 635s.

But the genetic link does not stop there as Shanna Gudahl, Braden’s mother and Jason Lloyd’s sister, tied for 41st overall in pacing the Bucs’ girls golfers to a sixth-place showing in the 1995 Class A state team meet. Shanna (Lloyd) Gudahl also tied for 43rd place as an individual in the 1996 state tournament.

Manning Lane, who followed Hunter Spencer in the Bucs’ scoring column — 167-164 — during last week’s sectional, also has a direct connection with the 1993 Blue Earth Area state championship squad as his father, Dusty Lane, tied for 11th overall and placed second behind Jason Lloyd on the team with a 160.

Manning Lane also shares a unique family angle this season as sophomore Mateja Lane, his sister, joins Fairmont freshman Bergen Senf in Tuesday’s opening round of the Class AA girls state meet.

Senf carded the No. 3 individual qualifier total of 179 to earn a 1:12 p.m. tee time off of No. 10, while Mateja Lane captured the fifth and final individual bid with a 184 to tee it up at 12:54 p.m. at Hole No. 1 at Sand Creek in Jordan.

Gaven Bruellman delivered the fourth and final counting two-day total of 168 during the Bucs’ team triumph at New Prague last Monday, while Thielfoldt (206) and Murphy (232) completed the lineup’s performance.

Hunter Spencer, Manning Lane, Braden Gudahl and Gaven Bruellman top the Bucs’ nine-hole scoring averages, respectively, in the 40- to 42-shot range this spring.

“They’ve all taken turns at being the top scorer throughout the season, and that’s the type of balance you want going into the big meets,” said Armstrong. “You don’t have to rely just on one or two guys to always go low on a given day, and that takes some of the pressure off.

“It’d be great if we could shoot around 680, but I’ll be happy with whatever we score. They’re about a year ahead of schedule in making the state tournament, so we’ll use this as a learning experience for down the road.”

Blue Earth Area’s youth movement will look to contend with the likes of defending Class AA state champion The Blake School and runner-up Holy Family Catholic, in addition to third-place Hermantown and fifth-place Detroit Lakes, during the two-day competition.

In the Class A state golf meet at Pebble Creek Golf Course in Becker on Tuesday, Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/ Martin Luther junior standout Parker Stevens will tee off opening-round action at 8:42 a.m. off of the White Course.

Stevens punched his ticket to the two-day elite competition by carding a two-round Section 2A total of 166 to earn the fourth individual qualifying spot.