Republic senior Cason Bekemeier wrapped up his third appearance at the state golf tournament with his best finish yet — a tie for 25th place at the Class 5 state tournament at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield. Bekemeier shot a two-day total of 147 (+3), posting rounds of 72 and 75, finishing just two strokes shy of all-state recognition.
Fellow senior Luke Heavin, making his first state tournament appearance, finished with a two-day total of 164 (+20). Heavin carded rounds of 79 and 85.
Bekemeier faced early challenges during Tuesday’s final round, bogeying four of his first five holes to move to four over par for the day. He steadied himself from there, playing one under par for his remaining 13 holes. Bekemeier notched birdies on holes 7 and 16, with his only back-nine bogey coming at the 15th.
Heavin encountered difficulties from the start of his final round, opening with a triple bogey and following with two more bogeys on his first three holes. That rough start pushed his overall score from +7 to +12. Heavin found his rhythm midway through the round, playing the next 12 holes at just one over par, before struggling with back-to-back sevens to close his round.
Bekemeier’s previous two appearances at the state tournament had results in two-day totals of 162 as a sophomore and 158 as s junior. He had tied for 65th in both his previous state tournaments. This year’s two-day total was his best at state by 11 strokes.
Harrison Zipfel of St. Louis University High School captured the individual title with a remarkable 12-under-par 132, finishing three strokes ahead of Liberty North’s Caden Mickelson, who posted a 9-under 135. Cole Packingham of Liberty (Wentzville) took third at 8-under 136.
Noah Naugle of Nixa led all Central Ozark Conference competitors with a seventh-place finish at 5-under 139. Lebanon’s Titan Haney and Glendale’s Owen Buerke both earned all-state honors, tying for 15th place.
