Nate Peyerl, Ava Olson Win 101st Birchmont Championship Titles

Rivalries are part of what makes sports great, and at the Bemidji Town & Country Club on Saturday, one college rivalry spilled onto the course when golfers from UND and NDSU took center stage for the championship round of the men’s match play at the 101st Birchmont.

After the semifinals were over, it was NDSU golfer Rylin Petry, the 2020 Junior Birchmont champ, against UND’s Nate Peyerl, who was playing the Birch for the first time. Peyerl secured the title on 15 with a halve, winning the championship match 4 & 3 over Petry.

“Rylin’s a great player and also a great person, so he’s always fun to play with,” said Peyerl after his win. “All the NDSU guys are great and there’s kind of a friendly rivalry, but, yeah, it seems like they win a lot of these, so it feels good to get a win.”

He continued, “It’s a lot of golf, but just kind of saving your energy and just trying to hit fairways and greens and play steady golf I think is the key. I would say the putter definitely felt good at the end of the week, but just getting your ball in play and having a chance at those putts is what’s important. This is a tournament that was on my list, so it’s pretty cool to get it done.”

Also on Saturday afternoon, the women had their finals match, a head-to-head matchup between 2023 champion Morgan Hetletved and long-time participant Ava Olson. In the end, it was Olson who sealed the deal at 17, beating Hetletved 3 & 1.

After the match, Olson shared how it felt to finally win her first Birchmont championship.

“So good. It was a long week of hard work, so I’m very proud of myself,” she shared. “I feel like I got to owe a lot of it to my caddie, my dad, and he was kind of my brain out there. I played with Morgan all week, actually, from qualifying till today, so just playing together and pushing each other all week had pushed me to my limits.”

Olson added, “You know, I feel like I didn’t just win for myself. Everybody helped me get here, so all I can do is thank them because they were there every single day before I even teed off. So, just a great support system.

Other winners at the 101st Birchmont:

Men’s Executive Championship

(2) Troy Johnson def. (4) Matt Norby 3 & 2

Men’s Senior Championship

(16) Curt Howard def. (10) Scott Hinners 3 & 2

Men’s Masters’ Championship

(8) Jeff Wiltse def. (2) John McEnroe 6 & 4

Junior U17 Championship

(1) Kolby Koerner def. (7) Axel Burlingame 1 up