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Sommers earns top seed in first Resorters appearance
Former Gopher finds her love for golf again
By Jared Rubado
Alexandria Echo Press
Samantha Sommers took a few years off from golf after her final days at the University of Minnesota almost 10 years ago, but she always wanted to try her luck at the Resorters.
Sommers, a St. Cloud-native, shot a 1-over-par 73 in the Women’s Division qualifying round to earn the top seed in match play on Monday afternoon. She beat out Alexandria’s Hannah Boraas by one stroke, which stunned her more than anyone else. Her round included birdies on holes 6, 15 and 18.
“There’s no chance I expected this to happen,” Sommers said.
“These girls are awesome, and I just wanted to come out here and compete. I went in hoping for the best, but it was kind of one of those rounds where it was just exhausting. Nothing seemed to come together. I wanted to give myself chances and limit three-putts. There were definitely some three-putts.”
In high school, Sommers led the St. Cloud Apollo Eagles in many Central Lakes Conference events for six years– including events at the Alexandria Golf Club. Her talents took her to the University of Minnesota before graduating in 2011. After her time with the Gophers, she fell out of love with golf.
“I just got sick of it,” Sommers said. “I needed a break. I didn’t do much at all in golf for two or three years after college. I ended up taking a coaching job at Apollo and thought it would probably be smart to pick up a club again.”
Sommers also said she was inspired by her husband, who also loves to golf.
“It was easy to get back into the game when you have someone like him that’s pretty motivating,” Sommers said. “I needed something to make me fall back in love with golf again. Coaching and my husband did that.”
Despite playing at AGC in high school, Sommers never made it to Alexandria for the week-long extravaganza in August. Being that this year is the 100th
Resorters tournament, she thought now was as good of a time as there would be.
“I just never had the time to do this until recently,” Sommers said. “Tournaments are a lot of fun, and I wanted to get back into playing competitively.
ACG is one of my favorite courses in the state, actually. It’s just one of those places where you can golf it every day and not get sick of it. So, because it’s the 100th Resorters, I thought now would be the best time to try it.”
On Wednesday, Sommers heads into her first Resorters match play event with a target on her back. Her approach will be the same as it’s been: have fun and make the most of this opportunity.
“There’s always some anxiety when you’re competing for something,” Sommers said. “If you’re not nervous, what’s the point? I’m just going to stick to the game plan. I’ve had a lot of fun so far. Resorters is something you can’t really describe to people that haven’t experienced it. It’s good golf but an even better community atmosphere. I’ve never been to a tournament like this.”
Best of the rest
Ale Heinen is back to defend her crown as she will be the No. 2 seed in the match-play bracket. Behind her is Alexandria’s Hannah Boraas, who was two-overpar on Monday. Boraas birdied Nos. 3, 12, and 16 in her qualifying round.
Lauren Contreras, Lauren Stockmoe and Alayna Eldred all shot 76. Contreras birdied Nos. 1, 11 and 18 while Eldred and Stockmoe birdied No. 10. Eldred also birdied Nos. 3 and 5. Her double bogey on No. 8 cost her a spot in the top five.
Amanda Bigger and Madison Herzog rounded out the top eight by shooting a four-overpar 77. Bigger recorded birdies on Nos. 5 and 14, while Herzog birdied Nos. 3 and 18.
Leah Skaar (79), Avery O’Donnell (80), Emily Monroe (81), Elise Stockmoe (81) and Jenna
Westerham (81) all put up qualifying scores.
Ciara O’Connor, Aisling O’Connor and Cora Larson were all teammates at one point at Alexandria Area High School. All three of them shot nine over-par to take the final three spots in the field. The next best scores were Kalley Wagner and Amanda Woodhull at 84.
WOMEN’S DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT QUALIFIERS — Samantha Sommers 74, Ale Heinen Defending Champion, Hannah Boraas 75, Lauren Contreras 76, Lauren Stockmoe 76, Alayna Eldred 76, Amanda Bigger 77, Madison Herzog 77, Leah Skaar 79, Avery O’Donnell 80, Emily Monroe 81,
