FARGO — Midway through the fall golf season, Zoe Keene switched shafts in her driver. While her teammates call it ugly, Keene’s driving down the stretch was a thing of beauty.
The North Dakota Class A state girls champion, who won Tuesday in a two-hole playoff over Rose Solberg of Davies, found herself one shot down heading into the 16th hole at Fargo Country Club.
Ripping driver off the tee on 16, 17, 18 and in the playoff holes 18 and No. 10, the West Fargo Sheyenne senior kept putting herself in position to win. It wasn’t until Solberg’s tee shot on the second playoff hole, No. 10, clipped the top of a tree and left her an uncomfortable distance in an attempt to capture her second individual state title.
Mustangs head coach Dan Wolf, whose team breezed to the team title as well, said Keene’s teammates give her plenty of ribbing about that driver. “That’s a pretty good shot for an ugly driver,” they’d say. “But you know with that little tweak, she feels she can hit the driver whenever she needs to and today, she did,” Wolf said.
Keene birdied two of the last three holes to finally catch Solberg and erase a four-shot lead after Monday’s first round. Keene closed with a final-round 69 as Solberg, despite five birdies, took double bogeys on two of the par-3s and shot 73.
“I felt like my position was so much better than Rose’s,” Keene said. “I would much rather fight back than staying up where she’s at. It’s a different perspective, it was fun doing that.”
Both seniors are ridiculously long, especially for the 5,034-yard setup. Solberg rips it 270 on average and Keene is right in that ballpark.
“It was obvious,” Wolf said. “Isabella Hale from Mandan is a great golfer. She’s young (a sophomore) but she was 50 to 60 yards behind those older girls. These girls hit it so far now they just overpower courses. It’s amazing to watch.”
Fargo Davies’ Rose Solberg tees off during the North Dakota High School Class A Girls Golf State Tournament on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at the Fargo Country Club.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
Hale finished sixth at 151, 10 shots back. Ava Keene of Sheyenne was fifth with 149. Alexis Fabian of Grand Forks Red River and teammate Ella Speidel were third at 148.
Gusty winds rattled Solberg and Keene down the stretch. On 16, Solberg backed off a short birdie putt four times before missing it and allowing Keene’s birdie to grab a share of the lead.
“The wind was actually moving my golf ball,” Solberg said. “So honestly, legally, I don’t even know if I can hit it. So I just waited on that one and it kind of got away from me.”
It was a wild series of events on the 17th. Solberg’s punched approach rolled long and she faced a delicate third from behind the green with Keene eyeing a 25-foot eagle putt.
But Keene’s hat blew off just before she struck her putt, leading to a three-putt par. Solberg, on a similar line, rolled in an 8-foot birdie to reclaim the lead.
“That was really unfortunate,” Keene said. “I just needed to two-putt for a nice birdie and go to 18 tied up, but no, the hat had to blow off and it wasn’t even where I could walk off of it.”
That’s when her coach stepped in to settle his senior down.
“She was upset. And I said, ‘That’s golf. It can go any way,’” Wolf said.
With Solberg hitting a 7-wood on No. 18, Keene’s decorative headcover covering her driver came off on the final hole. Her drive finished just 18 paces from the green on the 270-yard hole.
“There’s a lot of people who are scared to use it, but if you trust it, why not,” said Keene, who said West Fargo girls coach Ben Walker helped fit her with the new driver shaft.
Solberg knocked her second shot on the final hole to 12 feet and — as she had done several times during the tournament — rammed her first putt well beyond the hole. When Keene’s 8-foot birdie found the bottom of the cup, several in the crowd of about 180 fans erupted as the match was tied.
To her credit, Solberg should win a badge for making the most comeback putts in the tournament. Now with 5 feet between a playoff or a loss, Solberg steadied herself and jarred the putt.
“This putter that I have right now is kind of heavier, so I think that makes my misses a little further from the hole,” said Solberg, who switched putters this year. “So that lighter putter might be coming back into the rotation.”
Solberg had to make another crucial 4-foot par putt on the first playoff hole to extend it. The Minnesota Gophers commit knows this won’t be the last pressure cooker she’ll be in.
Keene’s drive on the second playoff hole was dead solid perfect, covering the tree on the dogleg 10th which set up a 50-yard approach. After Solberg mishit two approach shots, all Keene had to do was two putt for the win.
“I’ve played with her all year,” Solberg said. “She’s a great girl, so I’m really happy for her to win this this year. And you know, at the end of the day, I just have to remember that golf is not everything.”
For Keene, who has ambitions — and offers — to play collegiately, she couldn’t have closed any stronger.
“Rose, Zoe, Payton Stocker, Ella Spiedel, they’re like boxers moving in and out against each other and working hard,” Wolf said. “Zoe’s been one of them and she wasn’t always mentioned in the same breath with them, so it was really gratifying to see her finally kind of get over the mountain top and actually be able to say, ‘Hey, I belong here. I’m one of the best in the state.’”