First red, then more gold: Linn-Mar’s Morgan Rupp posts 2 rounds under par for second straight Class 4A state golf title

ANKENY — Morgan Rupp made her vision a reality.

The Linn-Mar junior set her sights on continuing a stretch where sub-par rounds seemed as numerous as dimples on the golf balls she hits.

Mission accomplished. Rupp fired 4-under 67 in the final round of the Class 4A state girls’ golf tournament Friday at Otter Creek Golf Course. She recorded a two-day total of 137, winning her second straight title and finishing three strokes ahead Iowa City Liberty’s runner-up Bella Pettersen.

Rupp’s total is tied for the third-lowest two-round score in state history.

“Two rounds under par is ultimately what I wanted to do,” Rupp said. “It hasn’t really hit me yet. It will probably hit me tonight. I’m just super happy that I was able to have everything come together.”

Linn-Mar Coach Chris James reflected on the number of times Rupp has broken par in championship meets, including conference, regional and state. He said she did just about everything well in the season’s biggest event.

“The consistency has been phenomenal,” James said. “She really only had one bad swing today and that cost her a bogey. Other than that, she was hitting targets, putting great and made a few clutch putts from 5 or 6 feet for par.

“She had all parts of her game that were solid today.”

Rupp estimated she’s played double-digit rounds at Otter Creek. She seemed comfortable on the course, going lower than ever.

“I tried to come in here and not put pressure on myself,” Rupp said. “I just wanted to play as good as I could. Everything was just clicking. I shot my new personal best. I was hitting it well and sinking putts.”

Rains caused a delay and made the course wet and soft but playable. Rupp seemed unfazed. She opened on the back nine and carded her first birdie on No. 11, sinking a similar putt she missed Thursday. Rupp sandwiched a bogey between two birdies before a boost from consecutive birdies that put her 3-under through seven holes.

On the par-3 No. 15 hole, she stuck her tee shot within about 2 feet. Rupp dropped a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th.

“I feel like that set the tone for what the day was going to be like,” Rupp said. “That was a great way to start the round. I feel when you go back-to-back like that it really builds self-confidence going forward.”

James said Rupp has set a program record for putting average over nine holes, chip-in/hole-out shots and surpassing 40 birdies.

“She’s 4-under and she’s lipping birdies out,” James said. “She was still being aggressive. She stays in the moment and doesn’t worry about messing it up. She’s just going to keep playing the way she plays and keep being aggressive.

“It’s fun to see. I know she wanted to have a round like this. … It couldn’t happen to a better kid.”

Rupp has placed herself in position to become a three-time state champion, joining Dubuque’s Jacque Fladoos, Dubuque Wahlert’s M.C. Mullen, Eldora-New Providence’s Christi Athas, Ankeny Christian’s Victoria Grasso and Sarah McMichael of Nashua-Plainfield. Dubuque’s Sharon Fladoos and Charles City’s Jessie Sindlinger were four-time state medalists.

Rupp isn’t even concerned with that pursuit of becoming the eighth golfer in state history with at least three crowns.

“I’m just going to try to get a little bit better every day,” said Rupp, who plans to play throughout the Midwest this summer, starting Tuesday in Des Moines. “I still have the rest of my summer season to go through. I feel this is a good way to bridge into that.

“Next year, I hope to just continue to play well. We’ll just see what happens.”

Pettersen also broke par for both rounds, sharing the lead with Rupp at 1-under. She shot 1-under 70 again, posting birdies on Nos. 3, 5, 11 and 13.

“I’m extremely proud of myself,” Pettersen said. “Obviously, I didn’t expect much coming into it. I just tried to ease myself into it and really took one shot at a time.”

Pettersen placed third her freshman and sophomore seasons. She has battled juvenile arthritis during her career and even had to have double hip surgeries in the offseason. The University of Northern Iowa signee returned to golf in March and finished with her best state showing after missing last year’s tournament.

“It is astonishing,” Pettersen said. “It is a huge milestone for me to get through all the pain that I had and now I’m here, competing with the best people. I’m going to continue to keep going.”

Pettersen said her swing and putting were off to start the week and she did everything she could to shoot well.

“Keeping my head into it,” Pettersen said. “It was really hard at first because I was so nervous. I have all these people who expect a lot from me. It was really just coming down to each shot and playing it hole by hole. If a putt was going in, it went in. I didn’t force anything. That helped me. The birdies started racking up and I did better. It’s kind of how it goes.”

Pleasant Valley won the team title with total of 627, shooting 312 on Day 2. The Spartans were seven strokes better than Waukee Northwest and Cedar Rapids Washington. Northwest earned runner-up honors on a tiebreaker. Washington, which placed second a year ago, was third with 634.

Jane Petersen, the 2023 state runner-up, led the Warriors with a sixth-place finish. She recorded 74 and 72 for a 146 total. Lily Belle Barker was ninth at 153. Mya Messenger and Shaylin Munson rounded out the scoring with 162 and 173 totals, respectively.

Cedar Rapids Prairie freshman Kylie Wachtl was 12th, firing 70 for the second round and ending with 155.

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