NEW ULM — It was going to take more than nine stitches to keep New Ulm junior Elyse Dreckman from advancing to Day 2 of the Section 3AA Golf Meet this year.

On Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club and with nine stitches in her right hand, Dreckman powered through the first day of the section meet to finish with a 103 and earn herself a return trip to Oakdale this coming Wednesday.

The start of the week was far from ideal for Dreckman after cutting her hand in pottery class.

“Monday I cut myself in pottery and it was right before the end of the school day,” Dreckman said. “So I went down to the nurse and my mom came and got me and then I went to the emergency room and they put nine stitches into my hand. They said they would only put four or five in but they put nine in because I told them I had sections on Wednesday.”

But after missing Day 2 of the section meet last year by one stroke, Dreckman was determined to get on the course and do whatever she could to bounce back from last year’s section setback.

Even it meant overcoming a fresh injury setback to her strong hand.

“They kind of told me it was my decision if I wanted to play or not, so I just did,” she said. “I had to wrap it and put a glove over it just so it kept everything in and I didn’t injure it more.”

Understandably, Dreckman said the injury altered her approach on Wednesday quite a bit.

“I had to use a lot more strength in my left hand because my right hand was hurting,” she said. “And I’ve never played with — because I’m right-handed — so I’ve never played using my left hand so much.”

Dreckman admitted to waking up with doubts of being able to finish even the first day of the section meet, but she even surprised herself with how well she was able to play despite the injury.

“It was kind of cool just because I know I missed it last year and just because of the whole situation,” Dreckman said. “When I came to practice on Monday after I got out of the ER, everyone was like, ‘Oh, we really thought you weren’t going to make it.’ And [Wednesday], too, to keep going on, I actually was thinking in my head that I wouldn’t make it on because of my hand, so it was surprising to me that I did.”

Dreckman said her drive shots on Wednesday were pretty good despite her strength being impacted, which helped her overall as a result. She parred two holes and had five bogeys.

Now she’s taking some time to rest up before returning to Oakdale Wednesday morning for Day 2 of the section meet, where she’s hoping to break 100 this time around.