No, that splash wasn’t a water hazard, but it was a strong finish at the Big South Conference Championships.

Buegler turned in an 81 on Monday at Dacotah Ridge, tying him for 11th on the day with teammate Gavin Epper and giving Buegler enough points in the Big South series to be named an All-Conference golfer.

There are 18 golfers that earn All-Conference honors.

“Honestly, it means a lot,” Buegler said of being All-Conference. “It was kind of one of my goals heading into the season, thought it would be great if I could get an All-Conference [honor]. Lot of good golfers in our conference, so definitely a good accomplishment to make that.”

Submitted photo From left to right, New Ulm golfers Will Fossen and Mason Buegler pose for a photo together with their Big South Conference awards following this past Monday’s Big South Conference Championship event at Dacotah Ridge Golf Club in Morton. The two finished in the top 18 golfers this season to qualify for All-Conference honors.

The first Big South Conference Division event took place at Elmore’s (Blue Earth) Minn-Iowa Golf Course on April 22. The nine-hole event saw Buegler finish third overall with a 36, which also helped the Eagles take second on the day.

In the second nine-hole division event at Waseca Lakeside Club, Buegler shot a 41 to take 11th. The third meet, an 18-hole event, took place in Jackson and Buegler tied for 16th there with teammate Will Weidman as the two scored an 88.

“My first one is the one I probably remember most, it was my 36 over at Blue Earth,” Buegler said. “Started off decent, but then I got an eagle, which really helped the score out. That was pretty fun because I don’t eagle many holes. Then from there, I just kind of had that pushing me through the whole round and ended out, finished pretty good.”

Buegler’s 81 on Monday saw him start on the back nine, turning in a 45. He rebounded in a big way on the front nine, however, with an even-par 36 that included two birdies.

“It was kind of a struggle from the start,” Buegler said. “I started on Hole 10, so I started on the back nine. The first hole I got a triple bogey, and from there it was just kind of a — just had to play a lot better. I was not in the running to get All-Conference before the meet, I was placed in 22nd and you had to be top 18, so I kind of knew I had to put up a really good score if I wanted to get All-Conference, so I just went at it.”

Buegler said his driver helped him a lot in scoring the 36 on the front nine to come back and finish the final conference event strong. He also admitted he’s more familiar with the front nine at Dacotah Ridge, which helped.

“I’ve played the front nine there a couple more times and I think it’s a lot easier [than the back],” Buegler said. “But I honestly went into that thinking I’ve got to shoot even par to even get a chance at All-Conference, so I kind of just did it. … Putts started to drop and then the score started to drop with it.”

The freshman now turns his attention to the Section 3AA Golf Tournament at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake. The first day of the tournament is May 23, while the final day is May 29.

Buegler will need to continue his strong play on May 23 to secure a spot in the final day.

“Just got to go low,” Buegler said. “Just got to put up a good score Day 1, goal is to get to Day 2 and then we’ll see where it goes from there.”