Austin junior golfer Alex Thorson put up one of his best scores of the season at Austin Country Club Tuesday.

But he was thinking about the shots he could’ve made after the Packers closed out a 336-353 dual win over Mankato East.

Thorson won the meet medal with a 76, but a couple of his drives went wide and into the trees down the stretch as he had to play the recovery game.

“At that point I was on a stretch of bad holes, but I just had to punch out and try to save bogeys,” Thorson said. “I try to control my bad shots. When you have a good round and you hit a bad shot, it’s very hard to control your emotions, but you have to or else you’ll go up more.”

Thorson, who has won two medals this season, played both parts of the course equally as he shot a 38 on the front nine and the back nine. He hopes he can play Austin Country Club even better when it hosts the Big Nine meet May 25.

“I was happy with it, but I could’ve gotten a lot lower if you take away some of the bad shots,” Thorson said. “Hopefully I can go lower in the Big Nine meet.”

Austin’s second highest finisher was sophomore Tony Baudler, who shot a career-best round of 80 after hitting a 37 on the back nine.

Baudler was in a little bit of a hurry as he had a concert after the golf meet, so he played in front of the field alongside Mankato East’s No. 1 golfer.

“Playing as a two-some made me focus on me against the course and not against three other guys,” Baudler said. “We also had nice weather conditions and it was a good day to golf. (Scoring an 80) is definitely a big confidence booster for me.”

Baudler, who finished with three birdies, was hitting his putts down the stretch. But he also stepped up on his chips.

“I seem to be getting a lot better on my approach shots from 100 yards in since the beginning of season,” he said.

Austin scores: Alex Thorson, 76; Tony Baudler, 80; Isaac Christianson, 84; Cole Kroneman, 96