trosenau@nujournal.com

JORDAN — It was their first trip to the state tournament and their last, but the Buegler brothers made the most of it regardless.

New Ulm Eagles senior Jaxon Buegler finished his prep golf career and first Class AA State Golf Tournament appearance Wednesday at Ridges at Sand Creek with a two-day total of 160, giving him a tie for 54th place overall.

Not letting his older brother outshine him in what was also his first state tournament appearance, sophomore Mason Buegler finished the tournament with a two-day total of 157 to tie for 40th overall.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm’s Mason Buegler putts on eighth hole at Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan on Wednesday in the final day of the Class AA State Golf Tournament.

While his golf game was strong growing up, Jaxon Buegler opted to play baseball in high school until deciding to join his younger brother on the Eagles golf team this past spring.

While a state medal would have been the cherry on top, getting to state wasn’t a bad way for Jaxon Buegler to end his first and only year of varsity golf.

“I am super excited for all of it,” he said. “First year, I wasn’t going into sections or even any meet at all with any expectations, just kind of having some fun with my last year and being able to be with my brother was awesome. So doing super well in sections and making it to the state tournament … I wouldn’t say it was a surprise because I knew I was good enough and I had the skillset for it, but definitely made me super excited and I was super happy about it.”

Jaxon Buegler shot a 77 on Day 1 Tuesday, boasting two birdies and an eagle on Hole 10. Wednesday was a little tougher for him as he turned in an 11-over-par 83.

Rain began to fall in Jordan while Jaxon Buegler was playing his final six holes, making the end of his state run a little more slick. However, the rain also softened the greens up.

“[Day 1] I had two doubles on the first say, so you eliminate those and maybe just cut them down to bogey and call it a 75, I think that’s a super good round,” Jaxon Buegler said. “Today I just wasn’t really on. I missed a lot of putts, the course played super hard, the greens are super firm, so they’re hard to hold, hard to chip on, hard to putt on. There’s just little bumps and breakages everywhere, it’s just super hard to read and make putts. … The greens were probably the hardest part.”

Mason Buegler, who was a shot behind his big brother on Tuesday after turning in a 78 on Tuesday, finished Wednesday with two birdies to help him stay consistent in the tournament and finish the final round with a 7-over-par 79.

“The course was really challenging,” Mason Buegler said. “I’ve never really played anything like it in Minnesota. Just the difference between having to hit the ball far and to be accurate on those holes once you get into those holes once you get into the woods. Probably the most challenging part was the greens, I think they were rolling at about a 12 for the tournament. It was tough to just get stuff to stop. Those putts, if they weren’t perfect, they were 10 feet past the hole and you were coming back up the hill.”

Despite the challenges and being disappointed he wasn’t in the 75 range for his scores, Mason Buegler said he was happy to keep his scores in the 70s.

“I’m kind of happy to stay in the 70s both days, so I can’t complain too much,” he said. “Second day was a lot harder because tees were moved back and it was just a little more challenging pin position. I was all right with how I played both days.”

Mason Buegler will have two more years to get back to state and improve his score, but he said he was happy that he got to share his first tournament experience with his brother.

“I’m super he came out to play, it made the team a lot better, made it more fun and I’m happy we both got to make it to the state tournament,” Mason Buegler said. “I’m just a little disappointed we didn’t do it earlier, honestly, that’s kind of what we’ve all been saying.”

The Detroit Lakes boys team finished as the Class AA champions with a two-day score of 586, while Southwest Christian’s Ryder Rose finished two strokes under par for the tournament with a 143 to finish as the Class AA individual boys state champ.