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Cardinals continue to hone golf skills

Maggy Totzke

FAIRMONT — Though the 2020 Minnesota State High School League’s golf season was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the Fairmont Cardinal golfers continued working on their skills.

“We definitely encouraged the kids last spring, when we were locked down, ‘Hey, you know, this is something that you can do, it’s something that the government was allowing you to do. So go take advantage of it,'” Cardinal head coach Brad Haugen said. “You know, it’s, for most of the kids, it’s a de-stresser. It’s a time to go out and have fun and, and with all the pressures they had in school and everything, we really wanted them, not necessarily to go out to improve them for the golf team, but just to use it as a mental health break to get out and just enjoy the game that they love.”

Four members of this year’s Fairmont girls golf lineup return with varsity experience from the 2019 season, including returning scoring leader Maggy Totzke.

Totzke was three shots and one place away from a state individual experience in 2019 and will look to reach her first state tournament alongside the other Cardinal returners this season.

“We’re returning some good varsity experience,” Haugen said. “And the crazy thing is, they’re still young. Maggy Totzke will be leading the way for us … she’s just always been a grinder. And the cool thing about Maggy is her desire to still learn. When you’re kind of the number one position on your team, it’s pretty easy to get complacent, but even the other day out on the practice range, she’s like ‘Hey, can you teach me how to do this?’ To have students of the game who want to learn … that’s just awesome.”

Alongside Totzke, Bailey Martinson, Anika Haugen and Solveig Senf all bring varsity experience to the 2021 Cardinal lineup.

Although no teams have much prior knowledge about each other going into the season without seeing any competition last year, the Cardinals will face more of a challenge as they transition from Section 3AA to Section 2AA.

Fairmont joins other Big South Conference schools Waseca, St. Peter and Blue Earth Area in competition with perennial state competitor Jordan.

Brad Haugen said though he doesn’t know a lot about the Cardinals’ competition coming into this season, golf has one major advantage over other high school sports.

“The good thing about golf is you’re always playing against yourself,” Haugen said. “So if you can take care of it, what you can take care of, on the golf course and post your score, it’s out of your hands. … But when it comes to the other teams, it’s going to be anybody’s guess as to who’s got out there and, and took some lessons over the summer or played a lot.”

Varsity newcomers Lauren Davis and Brynn Gustafson will join the Cardinals’ returning core as they look to compete in Section 2AA.

Haugen said there have been some changes to the Cardinals’ schedule this season because of the pandemic.

There will be fewer invitationals and no major meets with large numbers of teams. As of now, there is a gap between the end of regular-season play and the beginning of the postseason competition.

Haugen said he and the coaching staff will look to add matches with teams if that time isn’t filled with high school league competiton.

Haugen said former Cardinal golfer Amanda (Rosol) Smith has joined the coaching staff to help Fairmont’s golfers this season, and will hopefully help Haugen continue the upward trajectory of the Cardinal program on and off the course.

“Amanda, I and our other coaches have been very eager to get out and start helping the kids,” Haugen said. “So we’re really excited to to get them on staff and work them into the mix.”

Fairmont is scheduled to open its season today when it travels to Worthington for a 9 a.m. invitational.

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