BROOKINGS — Former Watertown High School standout Jake Olson keeps making history on the golf course.
A couple of weeks after winning the South Dakota Golf Association’s Match Play Championship, Olson added the SDGA Amateur Championship to his growing list of victories over the weekend at the Brookings Country Club.
The course happens to be the home course for South Dakota State University where Olson is preparing for his sophomore season with the Jackrabbits.
“It’s a course we play all the time. You kind of know what to do, you just have to execute and get it done,” the 2024 WHS graduate said.
Olson won a tight battle over Luke Honner of Sioux Falls and Parker Edens of Brookings, the head coach at SDSU, to win the tourney that concluded on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025. He finished with a three-day, 54-hole score of 9-under par 207 (70-65-72) to top Honner (67-70-71—208) and Edens (69-70-70—209) to top a field of 127 golfers.
Olson grabbed the lead with the 7-under round of 65 on Saturday but still had to fight to the finish on Sunday. Olson, Honner and Edens each played in the final group.
“It was close between the three of us the whole way,” Olson, who eventually won the title on a final hole birdie, said.
For the first time this year, the winner of the SDGA Amateur Championship receives an automatic bid to the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship Aug. 11-17 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, CA.
Olson is the first Watertown golfer to win the SDGA Amateur Championship, which was first held in 1971, and the first Watertown golfer to win the SDGA Match Play and Amateur Championships in the same year. He joins Curt Byrum of Onida (1979), Ryan Jansa of Sioux Falls (1993 and 1995) and Paul Schock of Sioux Falls (2002) in accomplishing that feat.
Charlie Jacobson of Sioux Falls, a Watertown native, finished 11th (68-71-81—220) and recent WHS graduate Ty Lenards 20th (74-76-74—224).
McKenzie Mages of Sioux Falls shot a 6-over 222 (79-75-68) to win the SDGA Women’s Amateur Championship by six shots over Allison Meyer of Mitchell.
Mages joined Morgan Fitts of Brookings as the only golfers to win the SDGA Women’s Match Play and Amateur Championships in the same year. Fitts did it in 2013.
Olivia Braun of Aberdeen took seventh (78-76-78—232), Jake’s sister Gabi Olson of Watertown ninth (78-81-79—238) and Avery Palmquist of Watertown 13th (84-84-78—246) out of 21 golfers. Olson won the second flight and Palmquist the third flight.
SDGA Junior Cup
PIERRE — Mackenzie Wegehaupt of Aberdeen and Kenzley Heath of Sisseton were two of the eight division winners in the South Dakota Golf Association’s Junior Tour Cup on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025 at the Hillsview Golf Club.
Wegehaupt won the 14-15 girls division with a 12-over par 84. Heath took the 12-13 girls division with a 7-over par 78.
The tourney featured the top point leaders in each region. Two boys and two girls from each age division (16-18, 14-15, 12-13, and 10-11) represented the Northeast, Southwest and West Divisions.
Winner of each age division at the Junior Tour Cup are invited to be special guests of the Sanford International for the final round on Sunday, September 14. Players will have lunch in the clubhouse with dignitaries, attend the trophy presentation and meet the champion.
Other division champions included Matt De Beer of North Sioux City (16-18 boys, 3-under 69); Kalen Pudwill of Brandon (14-15 boys, even-par 72), Lincoln Trasamar of Sioux Falls (12-13 boys, 5-over 77), Jaxon Remington of Rapid City (10-11 boys, even-par 72), Allison Kennedy of Spearfish (16-18 girls, 4-over 76) and Madelynn Lahren of Brandon (10-11 girls, 19-over 91).
Other area golfers by division included:
- 16-18 Boys — 3. Kalen Larson, Aberdeen, 9-over 81; 6. Seth Hettick, Roscoe, 12-over 84.
- 16-18 Girls — 5. Olivia Knox, Doland, 21-over 93.
- 14-15 Boys — 2. Seth Lesnar, Webster, 2-over 74.
- 14-15 Girls — 3. Sage Gaikowski, Waubay, 25-over 97.
- 12-13 Boys — 3. Logan Borns, Clark, 7-over 79.
- 12-13 Girls — 2. Genevieve Golz, Aberdeen, 13-over 84.
- 10-11 Boys — 5. Madden Stein, Watertown, 17-over 89.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: [email protected]
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