GRAND FORKS — In the harsh weather at King’s Walk, the top players often find a way to fight through the whipping winds.
Rose Solberg of Fargo Davies was as consistent as she had ever been on Wednesday, shooting a career low 5-under 67.
Solberg sat roughly 20 feet under the 18th hole with an already stellar round clinched. To top it off, she sank the birdie putt that seemed locked on the whole way.
“It’s about the mindset,” Solberg said. “It’s windy and cold out here, but at least we’re not at school. Just thinking about the good things.”
Solberg’s focus was on hitting those low shots in order to stay under the wind. That’s fit for a links course like King’s Walk, where low runners can roll a long way.
It’s Solberg’s third individual victory in four meets as she looks to chase down West Fargo Sheyenne’s Zoe Keene as the East Region’s leading scorer. Davies, as a squad, has consistently been riding in the fourth-place spot in the East standings, looking for an opportunity to catapult ahead of Shanley, Red River and West Fargo Sheyenne when given the chance.
On Tuesday, Davies shot a 353, which ended up being 19 strokes behind Shanley and 33 behind Red River. Sheyenne, for the eighth-consecutive meet, was victorious with a 305.
“As a team, we want to go to state,” Solberg said. “You never know with the teams behind you. I just try to stay as consistent as possible with my team so we can make it to state.”
Leading the way for the Mustangs was Payton Stocker, who just missed out on the chance of an even-par 72 round. Her bogey on the par-five 18 didn’t ruin any chances of upsetting the win as each Sheyenne starter finished in the Top 20. Zoe and Ava Keene rounded out the top five with a 75 and 76, respectively.
All year long, the Mustangs have been setting the bar for the region, but as they learned last year, the last tournament of the year can have any outcome.
“They’re going to play as best as they can and we’re going to do the same,” Stocker said. “Last year, yeah, we unfortunately had a bad outcome but it’s just about playing the game how you want to play it. I think this year we just need to stay calm and keep our composure.”
After a stretch of finishing in third, including at Grand Forks Country Club, Red River has since bounced back with three straight second-place finishes.
Ella Speidel finished second individually with a 72. Alexis Fabian shot 77 and Lauren Soholt was at 79.
The Riders also had two other top-40 finishers in Ellie Greenberg (96) and Brooke Evans (92).
Digital Content Producer and Sports Reporter at the Grand Forks Herald since December of 2020. Maxwell can be contacted at mmarko@gfherald.com.