AMES – It’s amazing what a little confidence can do for a person’s golf game. That, and a hot putter.

After struggling during the late stages of the regular season, South Hamilton sophomore Nathan Sogard came to life in the postseason and capped a thrilling three-week ride by placing 10th in the field of 64 players at the Class 2A state tournament at the Ames Golf and Country Club on Saturday.

Sogard started the 36-hole event on Friday by posting a 77. His 79 on Saturday in less than ideal conditions gave him a two-day total of 156 and outright ownership of 10th.

“It was huge for me and I’d love to keep going,” Sogard, who was 46th in the 2A field as a freshman in 2014 when the Hawks won the state team title, said. “I really wasn’t nervous because there were no expectations for me going in. But I was pretty confident because my short game was working really well.”

Sogard certainly had ice water in his veins at the start of the tournament, as he birdied his first three holes in succession and had it to 4-under-par on the back nine at one point. He wasn’t intimidated by the large and undulating greens and got out of some potential jams with his putter.

“He just played within himself all weekend, he played with confidence and he played with focus,” South Hamilton head coach Mark Ullestad said. “He putted really well (on Friday) … it’s nice to finish on a high note for him and for our program as we try to get some momentum.”

Sogard said he hoped to shoot in the mid-70s both days. With high winds and colder temperatures on Saturday, he wasn’t displeased with the outcome.

“I’m pretty happy because it was a huge improvement over last year,” Sogard said. “My short game is usually key because I don’t hit my driver or my irons a mile.

“I know I have a lot of work to do (during the offseason), but hopefully we can get down here again as a team next year.”

Panorama won the 2A team title with a 616 (300-316) – a 27-stroke lead over runner-up Carroll Kuemper (311-322-633).

Panorama’s Will Babcock (70-72-142) and Jordan Eng (74-76-150) went 1-2 on the individual leaderboard. Eng shared second with South Winneshiek’s Logan Schweinefus (75-75-150).