ALEXANDRIA

and ST. CLOUD — The 2023 boys golf Central Lakes Conference Championship Meet was a neck-and-neck race between the Alexandria Cardinals and Sartell-St. Stephen Sabres, which Sartell won by one stroke.

Things were completely different in 2024 as Alexandria jumped out to a big lead early on Thursday that it never relinquished.

Alexandria won the 2024 CLC team title with a total of 593 over 36 holes at Geneva Golf Club in Alexandria and at the St. Cloud Country Club on Thursday and was led by senior Jack Holtz, who has now won back-to-back CLC individual titles.

“I hit it pretty well all day,” Holtz said. “I hit 14 greens in round one and 13 in the next. I hit it well off the tee, putting myself in good scoring positions. On hole 18 (in St. Cloud), I checked the leaderboard to see where I was at and I then did what I had to do.”

Alexandria won the CLC team title by 14 strokes over Sartell on May 23, 2024.

Holtz finished the 36 holes 2-under par (68 74 – 142) by carding seven birdies and 24 pars on Thursday.

Holtz, who is headed to play college golf at the University of South Dakota in the fall, also won the conference’s championship for the lowest-scoring average for the season as well.

Holtz won the CLC individual title over teammate Carver Larson, who finished the day with a stroke total of 146.

In round one in Alexandria on Thursday, Larson set a new personal best with a round of 66 (6-under par).

“It feels awesome,” Larson said about shooting a 66. “I’ve never done it before, so it’s cool. My family was here watching, and it’s super cool to do it in front of a home crowd.”

Playing on the ponds course for his first nine, Larson, a junior, birdied the first four out of seven holes.

“I play out here nearly every day, and know the course,” Larson said after his round at Geneva Golf Club. “I was able to get set in right away.”

Larson hit a bit of a speedbump, making the turn from the ponds course to the marsh course, as he bogeyed the ninth hole on the ponds course and the second hole on the marsh course (his 11th hole).

Larson bounced back in a big way by scoring an eagle on the par 4 third hole on the marsh course. Larson ended the round by shooting 5-under par in his final seven holes.

“I had a pretty bad bogey on my 11th hole,” Larson said. “Once I got off that green, I knew I had a couple of easy holes coming up. I told myself that I’ve birdied these holes 1,000 times, so go out and make some birdies.”

Holtz wasn’t too far behind Larson in round one as he shot 4-under par at Geneva with five birdies, 12 pars, and just one bogey.

“He (Holtz) and I are always pushing each other,” Larson said. “We play golf with each other nearly every day, and neither one of us likes to lose to the other. We want to beat each other, but we want each other to play well. It’s a love-hate relationship that is super awesome.”

“That’s pretty typical for those two,” Alexandria head coach Brady Swedberg said. “Jack is more of a conservative player, getting a lot of pars and a few birdies. That’s typically what the scorecard looks like when he shoots 3 or 4-under. He’s usually making maybe one bogey and four or five birdies, not making big numbers. Carver is more aggressive, so his birdies come in bunches. They have a ton of power and birdie looks. This is just a product of how hard they work.”

Larson cooled off in the second round of the day in St. Cloud as he finished the round with a round of 80 with a birdie and nine pars. This proved to be good enough for a second-place finish as he finished one stroke ahead of Sartell’s Sam Lunde (73 74 – 147).

Alexandria finished round one with a team total of 288, finishing just four strokes off of breaking the school record of 285 and holding an 11-stroke lead over Sartell.

Finishing just behind Holtz and Larson in the individual standings was a solid trio of Alexandria freshmen: Will Thornburg, Weston Nyberg, and Blake Scholl.

Thornburg tied for fourth (75 76 – 151) with Sartell’s Carson Andel, while Nyberg placed sixth (74 78 – 152) and Scholl tied for seventh (74 79 – 153).

Nyberg and Scholl were competing independently and not as a part of a team on Thursday.

Thornburg had three birdies and 24 pars on Thursday, while Nyberg had three birdies and 24 pars, and Scholl had an eagle, four birdies, and 18 pars.

Rounding out Alexandria’s finishes, senior Gabe Weller tied for 12th (80 76 – 156) with a birdie and 26 pars, while senior Bralyn Steffensmeier tied for 21st (79 83 – 162) with four birdies and 14 pars.

The top 14 finishers from Thursday earn all-conference honors, and placers 15-20 earn all-conference honorable mention honors.

Alexandria is now set for the Section 8AAA Meet at Headwater Golf Course in Park Rapids on May 30-31.

Swedberg said the team is taking a more individualized approach to what they’re focused on in practice as the section tournament approaches.

“I think they’re all all different,” Swedberg said. “Some of these guys are working on some specific things within their golf swing. Some of these guys are just playing a lot because they’re feeling pretty good. They’re playing a lot of holes, trying to get comfortable making as many birdies as they can. A couple of the guys are working more on their short game, so it’s kind of different across the board. Everyone’s doing what they can to be ready for section and bring their ‘A game.’”

2024 Boys Central Lakes Conference Championship