IOWA CITY — One wayward shot to start the day wasn’t going to keep Natalie Henson away.
The Marshalltown senior overcame some early bumps with a strong finish, shooting a 2-over-par 74 to settle into a tie for seventh place after Thursday’s opening round of Class 4A play at the Iowa Girls High School State Golf Tournament at Pleasant Valley Golf Course.
Henson, a two-time state meet medalist, recovered from a rocky start that included a double-bogey 6 on her first hole and a 4-over 40 on the front nine by going 2-under 34 on the back side.
She chipped in for an eagle-3 on the tricky par-5 11th hole and had two more birdies to close out the penultimate round of her high school career.
“I thought she did a tremendous job staying positive throughout the round, given the start,” said MHS head coach Lucas Johnson. “And she’s somebody who knows that birdie runs are going to be there. She’s proven that throughout the season.
“Her back nine was incredible. That chip-in on the par-5 was super-fun to see, and I think that got her going.”
That 34 on the back nine also included Henson’s first of two double bogeys on the day, as her group started on the finishing 18th hole. On her approach, Henson pulled the shot just left of the green, but it found the cart path and eventually the parking lot in front of the clubhouse.
Ominous? Certainly. Over? Not yet.
“Obviously you don’t want to start with a double, but I feel like with state there’s 35 more holes left so I was just trying to keep my mind there,” Henson said. “I was just trying to keep my mind in the game.
“It’s golf. You’re going to have unfortunate holes. I just was catching really bad breaks, and then eventually on the back nine I was able to pull through in my game that I know I can.”
Henson found her first birdie on the short par-4 fifth hole, but she backslid with another double bogey on No. 7 and a bogey on No. 8. An adventuresome experience with shrubbery near the seventh green led to her second double bogey, and a bogey followed to send her to 6-over for the round.
“I feel like mentally I was there,” she said. “I was a little nervous, but I feel like I’ve been more nervous at tournaments before. I just had one bad shot and it was like the worst shot I could have had.”
Henson’s day reversed course in a big way on the 11th hole. After striping her drive, Henson hit around the large oak tree loitering at the end of the fairway to an elevated position behind the green. With deft touch, Henson popped her pitch gently into the air and watched patiently as it trickled down the sloping green and finally into the cup for an eagle.
“It was really nice, and I was happy with it, but I had to keep moving because I had to keep grinding because I was in such a hole,” Henson said. “I feel like something in my game is once I get started, it’s good, so I just wanted to keep that going and dig myself out.”
Easier said than done, but Henson did exactly that. She followed with a birdie on the short par-4 12th hole and added another on the par-5 15th. She had birdies chances throughout the back nine, which gave her confidence heading into Friday’s final 18 holes.
Henson played her last nine holes at 4-under, getting her back into position to give her ultimate goal a chance.
“I feel like I’m not happy with that, if I’m being honest,” Henson said of her 2-over 74. “I’m not playing my game 100 percent, but you never are. I feel like I should be competing in that top spot. My front nine kind of took me out, but I’m happy I came back.”
Iowa City West freshman Ainsley Wilson led after the opening day with a round of 68, and two-time defending champion Morgan Rupp of Linn-Mar was one stroke back at 69. Kylie Wachtl of Cedar Rapids Prairie and Camille Wood of Pleasant Valley shared third place at 71, Waukee Northwest’s Adalyn Wiig was even, and Jane Peterson of Cedar Rapids Washington shot 73.
Henson and Saleah Vivanh Vong of Des Moines East/North shared seventh place.
“She kept herself in the mix,” Johnson said. “There’s some really talented players in the field and she was playing alongside a defending state champion (Rupp) and she’s going to be somebody who will, I’m sure, make a run tomorrow.
“But I think Natalie knows that she’s got the ability to put some pressure on the leaders.”
Henson, who leads 4A in combined adjusted scoring average this season (37.12), can go as low as any of them. Now she just has to do it if she wants to have a chance to achieve her dream.
“I’m one of those players that doesn’t really pay attention to what other people shoot,” she said. “I’m just trying to play my best game, because I know I can go out there and shoot good so I’m just hoping I can go do that tomorrow.
“You can’t really control what anybody else does. You just have to focus on yourself, and if they play good, they play good.”
Johnson said he wouldn’t be surprised to see his senior standout and University of Nebraska-Omaha signee do something significant in her final round of high school golf.
“I think anytime in a 36-hole tournament you just want to put yourself in position to make that run and to see what happens,” Johnson said. “This is a course that can yield a lot of birdies and I think that plays into Natalie’s hands because she’s a golfer who’s not afraid to go low.
“Natalie’s got that attitude where she gets low and she just wants to keep going at it. She did a great job sticking to her plan throughout the round and, you know, just a couple more breaks go her way and she’s got the potential to do something special tomorrow.”
Henson will play alongside Muscatine sophomore Rylee Brockhouse (77) and Southeast Polk’s Anna Wahman (78) for Friday’s final 18 holes. The threesome tees off at 9:40 a.m. from the first tee, meaning Henson will have to wait the whole round to get redemption on the 18th hole.
“Yeah, I just need to re-do the front nine or like, two holes, and I’d be fine,” Henson smiled.
Iowa Girls High School State Golf Tournament
CLASS 4A
At Iowa City
Pleasant Valley Golf Course, par 72
Team Standings — 1. Waukee Northwest 309, 2. Ames 318, 3. Pleasant Valley 320, 4. Norwalk 330, 5. Cedar Rapids Washington 331, 6. Western Dubuque 333, 7. Bettendorf 337, 8. (tie) Indianola, Cedar Falls 347, 10. Iowa City West 350.
Individual (top 10) — 1. Ainsley Wilson, ICW, 68; 2. Morgan Rupp, Linn-Mar, 69; 3. (tie) Kylie Wachtl, Cedar Rapids Prairie, 71; Camille Wood, PV, 71; 5. Adalyn Wiig, WNW, 72; 6. Jane Petersen, CRW, 73; 7. (tie) Natalie Henson, MHS, 74; Saleah Vivanh Vong, Des Moines East/North, 74; 9. Hannah Kenkel, WNW, 75; 10. (tie) Cece Ball, WD, 77; Emersen Motl, AMES, 77; Rylee Brockhouse, Muscatine, 77.
CLASS 3A
At Solon
Saddleback Ridge Golf Course, par 72
Team Standings — 1. Gilbert 305, 2. Cedar Rapids Xavier 306, 3. MOC-Floyd Valley 307, 4. Dubuque Wahlert 309, 5. Des Moines Christian 328, 6. (tie) Lisbon, Williamsburg 335, 8. Pella 346, 9. Benton Community 354, 10. Sioux Center 356.
Individual (top 10) — 1. (tie) Elin Mueller, DW, 69; Ella Lohrbach, GIL, 69; 3. Ava Lohrbach, GIL, 70; 4. Allison Heller, MOC, 71; 5. (tie) Mehar Julka, CRX, 72; Courtney Latham, DMC, 72; 7. (tie) Hayley Morris, CRX, 73; Keely Kauten, Dike-New Hartford, 73; 9. Halle Sobaski, BC, 74; 10. (tie) Mady Mummelthei, Waverly-Shell Rock, 75; Cate Ihrig, DW, 75.
CLASS 2A
At Boone
Cedar Point Golf Course, par 72
Team Standings — 1. Oelwein 325, 2. New Hampton 337, 3. Grundy Center 348, 4. Roland-Story 349, 5. Sumner-Fredericksburg 362, 6. Jesup 372, 7. Red Oak 388, 8. (tie) Central Lyon 394, West Marshall 394, 10. Shenandoah 395.
Individual (top 10) — 1. (tie) Grace Lewis, OEL, 72; Chloe Bolte, S-F, 72; 3. Ainsley Teeling, Crestwood, 77; 4. (tie) Lauren Nuss, NH, 78; Morgan Krall, JES, 78; 6. Kirsten Nuss, NH, 79; 7. Brooke Thopmson, R-S, 80; 8. Josie Bemis, Van Meter, 81; 9. (tie) Ashlyn Kramer, Hinton, 82; Leah Larson, GC, 82.
CLASS 1A
At Marshalltown
American Legion Memorial Golf Course, par 71
Team Standings — 1. Easton Valley 344, 2. Nashua-Plainfield 361, 3. Mason City Newman 364, 4. Highland 368, 5. East Buchanan 369, 6. Akron-Westfield 374, 7. Newell-Fonda 392, 8. Mount Ayr 398, 9. East Union 402, 10. Lake Mills 404.
Individual (top 10) — 1. (tie) Bretlyn Decker, Central City, 77; Calista Joyce, Emmetsburg, 77; Emersyn Schultz, HIGH, 77; 4. Jaylee Shaffer, MA, 79; 5. (tie) Paige Franzen, N-P, 81; Faith Franzen, N-P, 81; 7. (tie) Brooklyn Kelchen, EB, 83; Gwen Nixon, EU, 83; 9. (tie) Aly Steil, North Mahaska, 84; Hadley Farrell, EV, 84; Gabby Buscher, Bishop Garrigan, 84.
