Looking at Torger Ohe’s record and career statistics, it is plain to see why he won the gold medal in the State Class AAA Boys Golf Tournament earlier this month at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids.
Ohe set up for a championship junior season with the Edina High golf team by winning the Minnesota Golf Association’s Junior Player of the Year award for 2023. With good weather in April, the high school season got off to a good start, and Ohe maintained a stroke average of 70.8 for the season.
His two 18-hole rounds at state were even better than that with 67 the first day and 68 the second day for a total score of 135. Finishing second with 69-69-138 was Centennial High sophomore Cooper Daikawa.
“Familiarity with the course [at Bunker Hills] gave me confidence,” Ohe said.
For one of the few times in recent years, Edina didn’t win the section title and, thus, was not eligible to compete for the state team title. Still, there were three Hornets qualifying as individual - Ohe and his sophomore brother Sander and senior Jimmy Abdo.
“My strategy didn’t change [as an individual qualifier],” Ohe said. “But there was less pressure on me because I didn’t have to think about a team score.”
Ohe led almost from wire to wire at state and basically had only one strong challenger, Daikawa. The third-place finishers were five strokes behind Ohe with 140 totals.
As one of Edina’s leaders the last several years, Ohe helped the Hornets to the state Class AAA team championship in 2023. He would like nothing more than winning the state title again in 2025.
“We have built a good culture in the Edina program,” he said. “Friendships have formed that will last a lifetime. Our main goal every year is the state team championship. We have a lot of guys coming back for next year.”
Ohe has made a verbal commitment to play golf at the University of Minnesota after graduating from Edina next spring. “I like everything about the Gopher program,” he said. “Coach [Justin] Smith is amazing and a fun person to be around.”
One of Ohe’s Gopher teammates will be Jack Wetzel, Edina High’s 2022 state champion. Wetzel played on Minnesota’s varsity as a sophomore this spring.
Like most young golfers who have had a lot of success, Ohe has his sights on a potential pro career. However, the PGA Tour is no certainty for anyone and still several steps away for Ohe.
“The PGA Tour is a dream,” Ohe said. “I have one more year of high school golf. And my next goal is to play well for Minnesota.”
Many golfers are one-sport athletes, but Ohe and his younger brother are also varsity cross country runners. Both sports are individual in nature, but have team elements.
Ohe summed up the biggest difference between the two sports: “Cross country is tougher physically than golf. In cross country, your success is determined by the work you do. In golf, if it’s not your day, it’s not your day - no matter how much work you’ve put in.”
Ohe has more good days than off days, of course. His best 18-hole scores so far have been 65s at Braemar in Edina and at Detroit Country Club in Detroit Lakes. Plans for the remainder of the season include playing in the State Amateur Tournament and the Pine to Palm Tournament.
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