But he certainly found his stroke when it mattered most.

Buegler qualified for his second consecutive state golf tournament after his third-place finish at the Section 3AA Golf Tournament Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club.

Buegler shot a 1-over-par 73 last week on Day 1 of the section tourney and carded an even-par 72 on Day 2 to take third overall in the tournament with a two-day score of 145. That was just five strokes behind the section individual champion Max Truscinski, an eighth-grader from New London-Spicer that shot 2-under-par 70s in both round of the tourney.

Buegler set himself up well for Wednesday after the opening round a week ago when he made two birdies and 14 pars. On Wednesday, he one-upped his prior round, recording an eagle on the 18th hole, a birdie on the 16th hole and 13 pars.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm senior Brayden Wendinger follows a shot of his during Round 2 of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

“I kind of knew that I had to just kind of stay steady at where I was and it’s kind of what I did,” Buegler said. “I played a relatively safe, relatively conservative game the entire day. I hit greens, I made a couple more putts than I made in past rounds, so that actually felt really good considering my putter has not been very hot recently, so I think that was a big momentum changer for me for sure was I drained a couple good putts, had a couple good up and downs on the first holes, and I just had to flow from there, make some pars and get out.”

Buegler’s eagle was a nice recovery from his tee shot on the 18th, which he pushed it a little right of where he would have liked it. It wasn’t too bad of a shot to recover from, however.

“I had a little bit of a downhill lie with a tree in front of me and all,” he said. “My literal goal was to play it just right of the green and be in the rough, and I just tried to draw out a little bit and it actually drew perfectly around the tree. I had 256 into the pin, I took a 4 iron from that lie, put it about 7 feet downhill, right-to-left putt and I just kind of drifted in.”

Exciting moments like that, which came on the final hole of Buegler’s front nine Wednesday, were just what he needed to remain confident and punch his state ticket again.

“It really just feels good to be back,” Buegler said. “I kind of had a down season for the entire year and coming into Oakdale, I love playing Oakdale’s golf course. So coming into it, I kind of had that going for me already, and I just put together a couple solid rounds and it always feels good to go back to state and kind of prove that I should be there.”

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm’s Colton Anderson watches a shot of his during the final round of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

Buegler said after taking 40th last year at state, he’s looking for a top-20 finish this season.

Marshall won the team tournament Wednesday with a two-day score of 595 to advance to state. The Eagles finished third overall with a 621, behind NLS, which had a score of 600.

New Ulm junior Brandt Munson just missed the cut for state, finishing 10th overall with a two-day score of 154. Munson had two birdies on Wednesday.

Also for the New Ulm boys, junior Colton Anderson finished with a two-day score of 159 to take 13th, shooting an 83 on Wednesday, while the Eagles’ lone senior Brayden Wendinger shot a 163 total for 19th, carding an 81 Wednesday. Eagles seventh-grader Ethan Schmidt shot sn 86 on Wednesday for a two-day total of 172 (34th), while eighth-grader Asher Wendinger shot a 90 Wednesday for a two-day total of 182 (45th).

Minnesota Valley Lutheran had one boys golfer compete on Day 2 in junior Philip Lukasek, who shot an 84 on Wednesday for a two-round total of 168, good enough for 26th overall.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm’s Brandt Munson competes in the final round of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

The girls side of the meet saw just one New Ulm golfer compete, senior Lilly Kral. Kral finished with a 101 on Wednesday for a two-round total of 201.

The two-day Class AA State Golf Tournament begins June 9 in Jordan at Ridges at Sand Creek.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm eighth-grader Asher Wendinger competes during the second round of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm seventh-grader Ethan Schmidt takes a shot on the sixth hole during the final round of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran junior Philip Lukasek tees off on Hole 5 during the second round of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm senior Lilly Kral plays the 18th hole during the second round of the Section 3AA Golf Tournament on Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.