Watertown junior Gabi Olson makes verbal commitment to golf for USD

WATERTOWN — Another Olson from Watertown is going to play NCAA Division 1 golf at a South Dakota university. Watertown High School junior standout Gabi Olson announced on Thursday, April 16, 2026, that she has verbally committed to play women's golf golf for the University of South Dakota with a post on her Instragram account. "Excited and honored to announce my verbal committment to continue my academic and golf career at the University of South Dakota," Olson posted.

"Grateful for everyone who's supported me along the way — excited for what's ahead. " This week, Olson began her fourth season as a regular for WHS girls golf team and is already a two-time top-10 finisher in the state Class AA tournament. She tied for fifth as a freshman in 2024 and placed sixth in 2025.

She tied for 28th as an eighth-grader in 2023. Olson was a key player on Watertown's 2024 state AA championship team, which captured the school's first state title since the Arrows won the 1978 and 1979 state A titles under South Dakota's old two-class system. Last summer, she won the South Dakota Golf Association/Sanford International Series Championship in July.

That came three weeks after she set a South Dakota junior golf record (and possibly all-time state record) by shooting a 7-under par 28 over nine holes in a SDGA/Sanford international Series event at the Lakeview Golf Course in Mitchell. Her older brother Jake also was a standout golfer for WHS and is now competing as a sophomore for South Dakota State University men's golf team. He was a three-time Eastern South Dakota Conference champion who is the school's only two-time state champion, winning Class AA titles in 2021 and 2023.