North Union Warriors senior golfer Drew Henderson’s high school career will continue with one more meet after Henderson won the individual district title on Tuesday at the Rice Lake Golf and Country Club in Lake Mills.
Henderson, who also qualified for the class 1A state tournament the previous two seasons, left no doubt, shooting a 37 over the front nine holes and 34 on the back nine to finish the meet with a final 18 hole tally of 71. The North Union senior finished five strokes ahead of his next nearest competitor, South Winneshiek freshman Sid Hesse. The five-stroke victory marked a big contrast from the previous season, when Henderson finished in a tie for the final state qualifying spot at the district meet, narrowly securing his place at state before ultimately going on to win a state medal.
Henderson came into the meet in a calm place mentally in spite of dealing with a one day postponement that disrupted the schedule.
The Rice Lake Golf and Country Club provided a familiar setting for Henderson, as Top of Iowa West foe Lake Mills also hosts their regular season meets there, meaning Henderson already had plenty of reps at the course.
North Union golfed at Rice Lake on April 24th against Lake Mills and Eagle Grove, with Henderson also winning the title that day with a 9 hole score of 35, also five strokes better than the next nearest competitor.
Even with the familiarity, Henderson said the weather leading up to the meet meant the conditions weren’t easy.
Although one could have considered Henderson as one of the favorites to win the individual district title, with two previous top ten finishes at the class 1A state tournament under his belt (9th place in 2024, 7th place in 2025), the district also featured several other golfers with high finishes at state such as Cale Kleppe and Braiden Todd from South Winneshiek (9th and 21st place in 2025), and Nicholas Bernhard of Turkey Valley (10th place in 2025).
Henderson figured his final score of 71 would be enough to punch a state ticket, but wasn’t sure if it would be enough for the win.
The North Union senior talked about giving himself opportunities throughout the meet.
Henderson has now won 7 of the 13 meets North Union competed in during the 2026 season.
Heading into the state meet, Henderson ranks fourth in class 1A in 18 hole average (73.3) and fifth in 9 hole average (37.1). After earning a state medal last season, Henderson feels the pressure has been lifted for this year.
The North Union senior says he hopes to improve on last year’s finish.
The class 1A state meet will be contested at the Westwood Golf Course in Newton on May 26th and 27th.
