110th MGA Amateur Championship Fact Sheet

• 110th MGA Amateur Championship First-Round Play
• 110th MGA Am Rd. 2
• 110th MGA Am Rd. 3
• 110th MGA Annual Awards Dinner, Midland Hills CC

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110th MGA Amateur Championship
July 15-17, 2013
Medina Golf & Country Club, Medina, Minn.  

GENERAL INFO/FORMAT – The 110th annual MGA Amateur Championship will be held at the Medina Golf & Country Club, Monday through Wednesday, July 15-17. One hundred and fifty-six competitors will play 36 holes – 18 on Monday and 18 on Tuesday. After 36 holes a cut will be made and the remaining 60 players and ties will play 18 holes on Wednesday to determine the champion.
 
LIVE SCORING ON THE WEB – Live Scoring will be available on the MGA web site www.mngolf.org.
 
MEDINA GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB OFFICIALS – Scott Peterson, Club President; Mike Rettke, Vice President; J.D. Drimel, PGA Golf Professional; Ken Gullickson, General Manager; and Erin McManus, Golf Course Superintendent.
 
MEDINA GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB AND CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF – The 110th State Amateur Championship marks the ninth MGA amateur championship to visit MG&CC, beginning with the 1970 MGA Amateur Four-Ball, and most recently, the 2009 Mixed Amateur Team Championship. In addition, the Medina golf club has hosted numerous USGA and MGA qualifiers.
 
Medina was established in 1968 under the name Rolling Green Country Club. The membership was predominantly Jewish and formed by a nucleus of members who had departed Superior Country Club in Golden Valley (now the Brookview Golf Course). In 2006, the membership opted to change the name of the club to the Medina Golf & Country Club, reflecting the growing prominence of the affluent community west of the Twin Cities.
 
The golf course architect is Charles Maddox, also credited with designing Brookview, Majestic Oaks (North) and Olympic Hills. The club has seen continual general improvements to the course, including the recontouring of fairways and a redesign of all of its bunkers. While the layout lacks dramatic elevation changes, the large rolling greens provide a variety of challenging hole locations to test the short game skills of the state’s best amateur players.  
 
LAST YEAR’S CHAMPIONSHIP – Last year, Frederick Van Rooyan (University/Les Bolstad GC) claimed his first state amateur title with an even-par 213 total, at Hastings Country Club in Hastings, Minn. His steady rounds of 72-68-73 forged a three-stroke victory over Sammy Schmitz (Valleywood GC), David Christenson (Elk River CC), and Matt Schneider (Pokegama GC), who tied for 2nd at 216. Rounding out the top ten scores: Andy Jacobson (Eagle Creek GC), Jesse Larson (LeSueur CC), and Colton Buege (Fox Hollow GC), tied for 5th at 217; and David Haley Jr. (University/Les Bolstad GC), Beau Hanson (Detroit CC), and Dan Moline (Ridgeview CC), tied for 8th at 219.

THE FIELD – This year’s field includes three former state amateur champions and a large percentage of plus handicaps (84 players carry +0.1 or better USGA Handicap Indexes). Former champs include Trent Peterson (Valleywood GC), who won five years ago at Windsong Farm (2008); Andy Paulson (Oak Glen GC), who won in 2006 at Midland Hills; and Eric Deutsch (Rochester G&CC), who won in 2004 at Northland. The recently crowned 2013 Players’ and Mid-Players’ champions, Genki Hirayama (University/Les Bolstad) and Troy Johnson (Rush Creek), are also in the field, in addition to last year’s runner up, the 2012 MGA Mid-Amateur champ (and the 2011-2012 MGA Player of the Year), Sammy Schmitz (Valleywood GC).  
 
Other accomplished winners include Jordon Peters (Burl Oaks GC), the 2013 class AA Boys’ High School champ; Taylor Sundbom (Enger Park) and Ben Welle (Village Green GC), the 2012 class AA and AAA Boys’ High School champs; Dalton Charboneau (Sundance GC), the 2012 MN PGA Junior champ; Dylan Gergen (Mendakota CC), the 2012 Twin Cities Men’s champ; Greg Melhus (Links at Northfork), the 2010 MGA Mid-Players’champ; and Andy Jacobson (Eagle Creek GC), the 2012 MGA Players’ champion.
 
Other notable entries include Leif Carlson (Valleywood GC), a 2013 MGA Senior Players’ semi-finalist; James Lehman (Windsong Farm), the 2003 MGA Mid-Amateur champ (and a past president of the association); and Jesse Larson (LeSueur CC), a member of the 2012 Minnesota Men’s USGA State Team.
 
COURSE SET UP – 7,257 yards, par 36-36—72
 
Hole #1 – 420 yards, par 4       Hole #10 – 415 yards, par 4
Hole #2 – 581 yards, par 5       Hole #11 – 539 yards, par 5
Hole #3 – 444 yards, par 4       Hole #12 – 395 yards, par 4
Hole #4 – 221 yards, par 3       Hole #13 – 248 yards, par 3
Hole #5 – 549 yards, par 5       Hole #14 – 555 yards, par 5
Hole #6 – 440 yards, par 4       Hole #15 – 378 yards, par 4
Hole #7 – 424 yards, par 4       Hole #16 – 400 yards, par 4
Hole #8 – 190 yards, par 3       Hole #17 – 170 yards, par 3
Hole #9 – 438 yards, par 4       Hole #18 – 450 yards, par 4
Out           3,707 yards   36      In               3,550 yards   36
 
Course Rating:            74.0
Slope Rating:              136
 
ELIGIBILITY – To enter the MGA Amateur Championship, a player must be an
associate member of an MGA club and have an USGA Handicap Index of 6.4 or lower at the time of entry. 

PAIRINGS/NOTICE TO COMPETITORS
Complete pairings and the notice to competitors are available online at www.mngolf.org.
 
ABOUT THE MGA
Founded in 1901, the Minnesota Golf Association is the governing body over amateur golf in the state, responsible for administering the Rules of Golf, and committed to uphold and promote the game of golf and its values for all golfers in Minnesota. The MGA conducts 15 major amateur championships and eight USGA qualifying events each year. Thanks to the support of its member clubs and associate members, and the efforts of its volunteers and staff, the MGA provides a variety of services such as handicapping, course rating and measuring, an online golf news and information resource, mngolf.org, and an official publication, Minnesota Golfer magazine, which benefits all golfers throughout Minnesota.