MN Tour Championship Recap

Prior Lake - 39 players chased their respective Tour Championship trophies and, for many, a spot in our National Championships. We named 9 season long flight champions as well. 

 

Once again the low rounds of the tournament came from the Palmer flight on both days. Dean Sengstock, playing on his home course, sent a message that he was the player to beat with an opening round of 1 over par 73. 4 birdies nullified the quad on #10. Matthew Lavanger was 3 shots back while Mike Kelley and Bob Murphy were a couple more. Mathew grabbed 2 shots back in the first 3 holes on Sunday but gave them both back on the short 4th. Both turned in 38. The punch-counter punch began on the back nine. Dean's par on #10 was a 2 shot swing but Matt's birdie on #11 was 3 better than Dean. A birdie on the par five 12th settled Dean down and he finished with only 2 more bogies on the back for a 39 to Matt's 42. Dean's 2-day total was 6 over par 150. His first win of the season and earns him an invite to Nationals.

The Championship flight needed more than 36 holes to determine a winner. Jason Rhoades held the lead by 2 over Chad Onstot after the first 9 holes and Tyler VanHecke was three further back. Tyler played steady on the back side wth 7 straight pars for a 39 while Chad shot a 40 and Jason a 41 on 2 birdies. Sunday had all 3 off to a rough start with double on #1. Tyler closed to within 1 at the turn and caught Jason with a back side 39. Jason and Tyler played an extra 2 holes before a par by Jason gave him the win. This is Jason's 6th win of the season.

Steve Buan held the early lead in the Sarazen flight after a 37 front side but Doug Bird led by 4 shots after day 1 with a 79 and 3 birdies on the card. His back nine 37 was best among all 39 competitors. Sr. Sarazen player Ed Favorite, playing with the young guys, was tied with Steve at 83. The good scoring continued on Sunday with Ed going out in 38 to pass Steve and catch Doug. Ed's 3 birdies on the back nine offset a triple on #17 and allowed him to post a 78 for a 2-day total of 161 which matched the score of the Championship flight, albeit from a different set of tees. This was Ed's 4th win of the season. 

Home course advantage came through for Gary Braun in the Hogan flight but it took some 2nd round heroics to pull it off in the largest field of the tournament. His 42 on the front side Saturday had him in a good spot, T3, only 2 shots back of Aubrey Johnson but a back nine 48 pushed him back in the pack. Fredy Alvear was also T3 after 9 but his 40 coming in gave him the 5 shot overnight lead over Drew Dammen and Larry Caldwell. Gary got the start he needed on Sunday going 1 under in the first 3 holes, 3 bogies later he turned at 38 and had pulled to within 1 of Fredy. Gary's 2 bogies to start the final 9 holes sounds bad but it gave him the lead by 1. He went 1 under on the next 5 holes before a triple on #17 threatened to derail his charge. He steadied himself for a par on #18 to earn his first win of the season and a spot at Nationals.

Paul Alexander almost pulled off a similar comeback in Sr. Jones. Al Killinger, of the Orlando Tour, led Paul by 4 at the turn and extended that lead to 9 by days end on Saturday. Paul didn't let that challenge bother him apparently. He gained 2 shots on the front side Sunday. A 7 shot swing on the first two holes of the final 9 gave Paul a share of the lead with 7 to play. Paul dropped a shot on #13 while Al dropped shots on #14 & #15. Al pulled even on #16. No change on #17 meant they stood on the 18th tee with the tournament on the line, just as it should be. A good par by Al earned him the 1 shot win. This was Al's 3rd win of the season. I'm sure Paul will be looking forward to a rematch at Sr. Nationals. 

Pete Rojas got off to a hot start only 1 over through 4 holes in Snead flight. He turned in 48, 3 shots ahead of Jeff McVay. Pete then went one better on the back carding a 47 to put up a 95 on the leaderboard. Jeff was 2 back and Todd Klocke 2 more back. Todd climbed to within 1 of Pete after the front side on Sunday. Pete's par on #11 gave him a 4 shot cushion that he rode all the way into the clubhouse. This was Pete's 2nd win of the season and vaults him into 2nd place in the Race to Nationals earning him an invite. Pete also took home low Net honors.

Local Race to Nationals Flight Champions
The top point earners from our local tournaments were awarded in post round ceremonies. Pictured left to right.
Joe Christy-Sarazen, Todd Klock-Snead, Dan Barrett-Sr. Palmer, Paul Alexander-Sr. Jones, Rob Gardner-Sr. Hogan, Larry Caldwell-Hogan, Ed Favorite-Sr. Sarazen, Jason Rhoades-Championship, not pictured Steve Schubert-Palmer

31 MN Tour members (39%) have qualified and are eligible for our National Championships at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, FL next month. Congratulations to them all and Good Luck to those that compete. I'll send nightly updates from the National Championships.

Championship Flight

• Chad Onstot
• Jason Rhoades
• Tyler VanHecke

Palmer Flight

• Josh Bennett
• Sean Hazen
• Anthony Hugelen
• Mike Kelley
• Matthew Lavanger
• Steve Schubert
• Dean Sengstock

Sr. Palmer

• Dan Barrett Sr.

Hogan

• Fredy Alvear
• Gary Braun
• Larry Caldwell
• Matt Harter
• Bill Kelsey
• Jon Sanz

Sr. Hogan

• Robert Gardner

Sarazen

• Douglas Bird
• Joe Christy
• Jeff Loeffler
• David Slininger

Sr. Sarazen

• Ed Favorite - (promoted to Sr. Hogan)
• Warren Ferber
• Steven Holland

Sr. Jones

• Paul Alexander
• George Hardgrove

Snead

• Jeff McVay

Sr. Snead

• Amy Bauch
• Todd Klocke
• Stephen Oborn
• Pete Rojas

Russ Klein took home $210, and Darryl Williams (AZ Tour) $165 from the 50/50 raffles in support of Feherty's Troops First Foundation. Our total for the 2019 season is $2020. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Thanks to Am Tour visitors for joining us at The Wilds; 
Al Killinger - Orlando, Paul Smallwood - Orlando and Darryl Williams - AZ.

Special thanks to my Angels, Mary, Deb and Val for all of their support this season. 

Thanks to all our members for another great season. Our 2020 season begins in October. We have 2 great events scheduled. Baker National on Oct. 6 and StoneRidge on Oct. 20. Registration will open early next month. I'll send out a notice when I know the exact date.