Blind Bay’s Kowan O’Keefe continues to be a rising star on Minot State University’s men’s Beavers golf team.
September has been a sizzler for O’Keefe. He has taken two tournaments and, as a result of one, was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men’s golfer of the week.
Earlier in the month, Kowan, a sophomore at the North Dakota university, took medalist honours at the Augustana College Luxury Auto Mall Classic, scoring a one-under-par-70 in the first round and a 75 in the second. Minot head coach Chipper Farrell was thrilled with O’Keefe’s performance, noting it was the first time the university had won a title at this level, and “the first time in a while” they’ve had a medalist. On the downside, O’Keefe’s win didn’t count towards the Beavers’ team score as he was not playing at that time for the team.
O’Keefe’s second individual title tournament win came at the Concordia University St. Paul Invitational at the Tartan Park Golf Course. He came out on top with a two-over-par 74 and a five-stroke win.
“Kowan’s style isn’t going to blow you away, but he just doesn’t make many mistakes,” states Farrell in an Minot State news release. “And when he does make one, he is smart enough to not compound it. He really has it going for us so far this season. It’s great to see.”
O’Keefe also helped the Beavers take a second place win at the Beidji State University Invitational, scoring one-under-par 143 over two rounds.
O’Keefe recently discussed his recent tournament wins with Minot State’s Sports Information. He credited both wins to having a good feel for both courses, being in the right frame of mind and not letting bad shots get to him.
“You know, when you’re in contention (of a tournament win), it’s pretty hard not to think about the chance of winning but in order to have a better chance of winning, it’s just about keeping focused on one shot at a time,” said O’Keefe. “If you’re not giving 100 percent to every shot you’re not going to have a chance.”
Now a key player with the Beavers, O’Keefe says he plans to keep working hard this season, driven to do his best for the team with the hope of their winning a conference championship.