Sep. 2—WORTHINGTON — Lakeview native Max Tylke is now a perfect three-for-three in his Labor Day Classic final four appearances.
In a beautiful, yet breezy afternoon at the Worthington GreatLife Golf & Fitness Club, Tylke defended his LDC crown from last year and captured his third overall by three strokes in a grinding battle.
“This one was fun,” Tylke said. “It was really cool, we got to play with two guys from the group we come up here with. What a good time to actually get to play with the guys that you come up here and hang out with. So a little bittersweet, obviously, just because you obviously want to see them win too, they’re your friends. So this one felt good, it was a grind out there. I mean, everyone kind of struggled, so it just turned into who can hold on.”
It wasn’t easy for any of the final four golfers, but Tylke prevailed to finish with a 1-over-par score of 72 as the other three golfers all tied for second at a 4-over par 75.
The other three golfers featured Monday afternoon were Watertown, South Dakota native Stuart Stein, making his second consecutive final four appearance, Brandon, S.D. native Jon Burns in his first final four and Worthington native Will Mulder, also in his first final four.
Mulder had come close to making the final four before. In his ninth year competing in the LDC, he had made the final eight multiple times but was eliminated in match play each time.
This year proved to be different, as Mulder was engaged in a tight battle with Michael Hoxter in final eight play Monday morning. The two were tied through most of the round until Mulder nudged ahead in the final two holes to make his final four debut.
A former basketball player and golfer at WHS, Mulder was the hometown favorite with a sizable crowd cheering his every shot.
“It’s incredible, you know, these guys come out and cheer you on and yeah, it’s a feeling like no other,” Mulder said. “I’ve been dreaming about being in that position for a long time, in many years, and to have it happen and the gallery following and everybody cheering, is really cool, really awesome.”
Mulder’s day was solid overall with a couple of holes that could’ve made the difference for him. But double bogeys on holes two and nine put him six shots out of the lead through nine holes. An eagle on the par-5 12th hole put him back in contention, just two shots out of the lead.
But another double bogey on hole 14 put him just far enough back to not catch up to Tylke as he and the other three golfers all tied for second place.
“I missed a couple short putts,” Mulder said. “And, you know, I guess it happens, but I just missed them at the wrong times, and I made a couple mental errors, to be quite honest, hit it in the trap on number nine and and then proceeded to, whatever I did four putt there. So yeah, just a couple of small mental mistakes, couple bad swings. And other than that, everything was pretty decent.”
Tylke proved to be the most consistent golfer all day, grabbing a slim early lead after three holes and holding on to it through most of the day. He parred on six of the first seven holes before making birdie on holes eight and nine to go two shots ahead of Stein.
Tylke went into the 12th hole still with a two-shot lead before leaving with a double bogey, while Mulder eagled and Stein and Burns each made birdies. All of the sudden, Tylke and Stein were tied for the lead with six holes to play. That’s when Tylke’s experience of being the defending LDC champ proved vital.
“It’s definitely a comfort thing,” Tylke said. “I mean, you’ve been in it, and I play a lot of stuff through the states too. So it’s just, it’s comfortable. I’ve been in that situation, so obviously, I’ve been there and it feels good. Obviously, more people here than a lot of places I go, but you kind of just have to buckle down…”
Tylke remained and grabbed the lead back as Stein made bogey on the next three holes. Then came a big birdie on hole 16 followed by par on 17 and 18 as he came through in big moments when it mattered most, capturing the Labor Day Classic in front of an electric environment in Worthington.
“It’s a great environment, everyone here is just fantastic,” Tylke said. “I mean, you don’t get invited like this when you go somewhere else and they all treat you like family. I mean, winning here and playing here overall, is just, it’s amazing. You don’t get crowds like that that actually root you on. Obviously, there was a hometown favorite, we all could tell. But still, I mean, what a fun time.”
