Boys golf: Fairfield joins Pella, Washington in securing 3A district berths

FAIRFIELD — Kyler Besick was just a few inches away from a stress-free finish to the Class 3A sectional championship.

Just a few minutes later, Besick was staring down a tough three-foot putt to avoid a sudden-death playoff.

"They had a rough pin on that final hole," Besick said. "Just knowing that you can make the best score possible by working at it and having a solid game, you can manage anything."

Besick shook off a chip shot approach into the 424-yard final hole at the Fairfield Golf and Country Club that landed within five feet of cup, only to roll off the edge of the green into the rough, and came back to convert a tough bogey putt that preserved the last of the three-shot lead the Pella senior had built up through the first 17 holes. Rolling in the final putt clinched a six-over par round of 76, edging Washington senior Rajan Roth by a single stroke while leading Pella to the overall sectional team title on Wednesday.

"It just takes time. You have to work at it and you have to work hard," Besick said. "If you don't put the work in, you're never going to do something."

Landon Reynolds earned the third-place medal for the Little Dutch, edging Washington senior Drew Conrad on a card-off for third place after both golfers posted rounds of 78. Pella finished the day with a team score of 320, pulling away from the Demons by 12 strokes for the sectional title heading back home to Bos Landen on Monday for the Class 3A district tournament.

"It just goes to show that every putt matters. Every shot matters," Besick said. "We have a lot of confidence playing for a spot at state on our home course. We've got some tough teams coming to our place, but it's our advantage. Washington is great competition. This was not an easy day to come out on top.

"I don't like putting numbers in my head, but I think a score of 310 would make it to state."

Joining Pella and Washington in Monday's district tournament will be the Fairfield Trojans, who posted a score of 336 on their home course to secure third place in Wednesday's sectional tournament. Fairfield put themselves on top of the leaderboard early in the round and pulled away from West Liberty late after the two teams found themselves tied for third place with five holes left before the Trojans pulled away from the Comets by eight strokes.

"On paper, it would have gone Pella, Washington, West Liberty," Fairfield boys golf coach Mick Flattery said. "West Liberty never really came out to our course to practice once, so they really didn't know the course very well. That was a huge advantage.

"I felt like it was going to come down to us, West Liberty, Mount Pleasant and Fort Madison. We've started out slow throughout this season. We got out to a great start and were leading for many holes."

Andrew Myers led the Trojans, finishing fifth overall in the sectional tournament with a round of 79. Luke Thornton added a round of 82, finishing seventh overall while Archer Krueter posted a round of 85 for Fairfield to finish 12th.