Golf Channel Am Tour Twin Cities: MN Tour Championship

The Wilds Golf Club in Prior Lake - The MN Tour Championship started with overcast skies and a little rain but the sun was shining bright by the end of the weekend.

Mike Kelley - Palmer
69-76=145

Mike Kelley may be the one person who didn't want to see the sunshine after shooting a 3 under 69 in the first round which featured 6 birdies. The best round ever posted by a MN Tour member. His 8 shot lead was never challenged as he followed with a 4 over 76 to post a 1 over total of 145 to claim his 2nd win of the season in the Palmer flight. Mike has to be feeling good heading to Nationals.

Ed Favorite - Sr. Sarazen

Steven Holland led after the first round by 1 over Robert Christian visiting from Alabama in Sr. Sarazen. Both had 1 birdie each in the round. On Sunday Ed Favorite caught Robert while Steven suffered 3 doubles to fall out of the lead by the turn. Robert moved back into the lead by 2 thru 13 with 3 pars while Ed carded 3 bogies. Both struggled on 14 but Robert still gained 2 shots. Ed put up 2 birdies on 15 and 17 while Robert carded doubles on the last 2. Ed's 83 gave him the win and earned him a spot at Sr. Nationals.

Robert Gardner - Sr. Hogan

The Sr. Hogan flight required a playoff to determine the winner. Robert Gardner posted a terrific 79 on Saturday to jump out to a 4 shot lead over Steve Buan. Sunday got real interesting with Steve posting 37 on the front side with a lone bogey on #5 while Robert had 4 bogies and a triple. Steve led by 2 at that point and stretched it to 3 with a par on #11. The lead vanished on #14 however with Robert making a par to Steve's triple. Steve rebounded well and gained 2 shots over the next 2 holes with a birdie on #16. Robert made par on 17 to claw back 3 more shots and lead by 1 going to 18. Steve made par to Robert's bogey. Robert needed one extra hole to capture the crown. Robert will again represent MN at Sr. Nationals.

Tyler Petter - Hogan

Tyler Petter and Jon Balvance matched cards for the first 9 on Saturday in the Hogan flight. Tyler's 4 pars and 5 bogies on the back nine gave him a 5 shot lead going in to the final round. Tyler padded that lead by 2 on the front side in round 2. Jon got 3 shots back with 2 birdies on the back but it wasn't enough. This was Tyler's first win on Tour.

Jeff McVay - Snead

Jeff McVay was motivated to gain his first win this season. His 94 on Saturday in the combined Snead/Sr. Snead flight gave him a 10 shot cushion over Paul Fromm from the KC Tour. Jeff got off to a nightmare start on Sunday as he lost 11 shots to Paul after just 9 holes. Then the champion in him kicked in as he posted 5 pars, 3 bogies and only 1 double to shoot a wonderful 41 on the back nine and a earn the 4 shot victory.

Todd Klocke wasn't able to play on Saturday but he made an eagle on #9 on Sunday, holing out from the fairway.

Jeff Loeffler - Jones

The Jones/Sr. Jones flight had it's share of drama as well. Tim Palya led by 2 over Jeff Loeffler at the turn on Saturday shooting 39 with a birdie on the par 5 2nd. At the end of the round he trailed Jeff by one even though he posted another birdie on #15. Something about trees and a ricochet off the edge of the cart path on the back of 17. On Sunday Jeff took command with birdies on 2 and 3 giving him a 3 shot lead at the turn. Tim's 4 pars/5 bogies on the back nine made it close but Jeff held on for a 1 shot victory.

Matt Harter - Sarazen

Matt Harter took charge of the Sarazen flight on the very first hole. His birdie on #1 was followed by another on the short 4th and he turned in 38. Fredy Alvear was right behind at 39 as he matched Matt with birdie on #4. Matt added another on the par 5 12th and posted a 79 while Fredy put up 83. Fredy carded 2 birdies on the front on Sunday but also suffered 3 doubles. Matt limited the damage to one double and gained another stroke on Fredy at the turn. Fredy bounced back with birdie on #10 but Matt carded birdies on 11 and 17 to seal the deal with his 4th win on the season. Matt will be hoping for some of that first round magic at Nationals next month.

Jason Rhoades - Champ

Even though Jason Rhoades was uncontested in Championship flight he didn't just phone it in. His opening 73 featured 3 birdies and was followed up with a 77 to post 6 over for the tournament. This was Jason's 3rd win this season.

Ed Favorite ($145) and Tyler Petter ($140) took home some cash from the 50/50 drawings this weekend. Our season total has reached $1475. Thank you to all who participated. I'll be honored to present a check to Feherty's Troops First Foundation on your behalf at Nationals.

I'm very excited to announce that 23 MN Tour members will be playing in our National Championships at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor, FL next month. That's one third of our membership. We will be well represented. I'll be posting daily updates from Innisbrook on our Facebook page, facebook.com/GCAMTOURMN, starting on the 12th and a complete wrap up at the end of each tournament. Please follow us on Facebook so you don't miss out.

National Championship 9/13-16
Jon Balvance - Hogan
Mike French - Palmer
Jeff Gallagher - Palmer
Benjamin Grant - Hogan
Matt Harter - Sarazen
Anthony Hugelen - Hogan
Mike Kelley - Palmer
Tim Palya - Jones
Steve Schubert - Palmer
Dean Sengstock - Palmer

Sr. National Championship 9/19-22
Paul Alexander - Sr. Jones
Daniel Barrett - Sr. Hogan
Douglas Bird - Sr. Sarazen
Steve Buan - Sr. Hogan
Dean Dubreuil - Sr. Hogan
Ed Favorite - Sr. Sarazen
Warren Ferber - Sr. Sarazen (2015 Sr. Jones Champ)
Robert Gardner - Sr. Hogan
Steven Holland - Sr. Sarazen
John Juntilla - Sr. Championship
Todd Klocke - Sr. Snead
Pete Rojas - Sr. Snead
Bruce Addleman - Sr. Palmer

Don't forget we've still got golf to play this year. We kickoff our 2017 season at Keller GC on October 9. Registration will open on Sept 2nd. We follow that up with a Monday at TPC Twin Cities on the 24th. Both are great opportunities to bring a guest.

Thanks to Deb, Val and Mary for their great help again. Their contribution makes my job so much easier and gives us all a much better experience.

After the round on Sunday it was time to celebrate another great season. 5 of the flights came down to the very end to determine Order of Merit flight champions. Each was presented with a commemorative paper weight and a custom emroidered Srixon Z cart bag. We also presented the Player of the Year trophy to Jeff Gallagher for the 2nd year in a row. Jeff earned the most points, won 4 times including the major at BlackWolf Run, played in 11 events (7 local) and unquestionably played against the strongest fields in the Palmer flight which averaged over 10 players per event. It's never easy picking the POY because we have so many great accomplishments. Honorable mention has to go to Todd Klocke as he won 5 times in Snead including the major at Horseshoe Bay. Pete Rojas also won 4 times in Snead as did Paul Alexander in Jones and Matt Harter in Sarazen.

Player of the Year - Jeff Gallagher (Palmer)