Christensen, Death, Schmitz and Tylke Last Four Standing at MGA Players' Championship

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
 
 
  WAYZATA, Minn. – Making his first appearance at the Minnesota Golf Association Players’ Championship this week at Spring Hill Golf Club, Mike Christensen picked up a pair of wins over Casey Nelson and Nate Adams Tuesday, moving closer to his 12th victory in the state.
 
The Grand Rapids, Minn., native and 1995 MGA Amateur champion will face Miles Death in the semifinal round when the tournament resumes early Wednesday.
 
“I’ve been really happy—I haven’t played much this year and my game has gotten better each match, even though I had some loose swings this afternoon,” said Christensen, who turns 44-years-old Wednesday. “My caddie, Mike Rucinski, is a member here and he’s been instrumental with course management and reading these greens, so it’s provided me a level of confidence and to keep me going when things aren’t going my way.”
 
Back-and-forth early during his quarterfinal match against Adams, which was tied after nine holes Tuesday, Christensen birdied the 10^th to take a 1-up lead and extended it to three by winning the 12^th and 14^th holes.
 
Adams cut into the deficit by tapping in for birdie at the 16^th, but would lose his tee shot left of the 17^th green, leading to a bogey as Christensen clinched a spot in the semifinals with the win, 3 and 1.
 
“I’ve putted really well and I’ve done a great job of making the putts I need to make,” Christensen said. “Another big key is driving the ball out here—if you’re driving it well, you can give yourself wedges and you’re always in position, especially in match play.
 
“I’ve been a little spotty, but it’s still early in the year, even though it’s June. My expectations were low Sunday, but once you get here, immediately you get a little nervous and I love the energy pulling in. That’s why I love competitive golf—if you show up Monday morning, you want to be playing Wednesday.”
 
Death, a native of Wayzata, Minn., and graduate of the University of South Dakota, downed Paul Meyer, 4 and 3, during the Round of 16 early Tuesday before edging recent Class AA individual champion Sam Baker, 1-up, during the Tuesday afternoon quarterfinals.
 
 “I didn’t have a great finish today, but I haven’t played much competitive golf for a long time. I wanted to win one match, but when I won last night, I was really excited,” said the 27-year-old Death, who stopped playing tournament golf after graduating from college in 2016.
 
“I need to drive the ball better tomorrow, find more fairways and avoid the big miss. Giving your opponent at this point can’t happen.”
 
A pair of early birdies helped Death to a 2-up lead over Baker through nine holes. Sinking an 8-footer for birdie at the 10^th expanded Death’s lead to three, but he would card a pair of bogeys late and watched his lead shrink to one going to the 18^th. He would close out the match with a par on the final hole to defeat Baker, 1-up.
 
In search of his first state championship win since 2018, Sammy Schmitz advanced to the semifinal round Tuesday by defeating former University of Oregon golfer Sam Foust and 2018 MGA Amateur champ Van Holmgren.
 
“No doubt putting has saved me. My putter came out of nowhere,” Schmitz said following his round late Tuesday. “My speed’s been good. When I feel good over my short putts is when I’m putting well all over. I like the speed of the greens—they’re fast, they bounce, they’re firm. Those are the greens I putt on the best.”
 
A pair of early birdies gave Holmgren the lead during the quarterfinal match before Schmitz battled back by winning four consecutive holes, including three straight birdies beginning at the sixth, to take a 3-up lead to the back nine.
 
Schmitz took advantage of a Holmgren bogey at the 12^th to go 4-up and closed out the match when Holmgren found trouble at the 14^th, leading to a bogey and a 5 and 4 victory for Schmitz to advance to the semifinals.
 
Playing through injuries during the past few seasons, Schmitz insisted fatigue isn’t a factor at this point of the championship, despite playing three rounds at the MGA Mid-Players’ Championship last week at Giants Ridge before his four rounds over the past two days at Spring Hill.
 
“I’m in good shape—this is the best shape I’ve been in in 20 years,” he said, “I spent the whole winter staying in shape and I’m not tired at all. I don’t feel like my swing is tired at all.”
 
Schmitz, a six-time MGA Men’s Player of the Year, went eight consecutive seasons with at least one state victory to his credit beginning in 2011, but has now gone winless in each of the past two seasons.
 
Max Tylke, who has quietly racked up six state victories over the past five seasons, stands in the way of a second finals appearance for Schmitz in four seasons, as he defeated a pair of Petersons—Tim Peterson, 3 and 1, during Tuesday’s morning session, and two-time champion Trent Peterson, 1-up, late Tuesday.
 
“I knew the match with [Trent Peterson] was going to be a grind. He’s never really out of a hole, so you’ve got to be in it no matter what. I was hitting the ball well early, but missed a few short ones,” said Tylke.
 
“I’ve been keeping balls in play. It’s not necessarily about distance as much as getting a shot on the green and in the right areas. You have to do that around here, because once you get out of play you can run a string of bogeys or worse and that will kill a match. You’ve got to hit some putts and hitting it close is pretty hard.”
 
Tylke managed a 2-up lead over Peterson through nine holes during the quarterfinal round Tuesday before Peterson shifted momentum by winning the 10^th and 11^th holes with back-to-back birdies, and he would take his first lead of the match with another birdie at the 13^th.
 
Tying the match with a par at the 14^th, Tylke regained a slim lead at the 17^th when Peterson lost his tee shot left of the green and eventually conceded the hole, unable to locate his ball. Tylke closed out a 1-up victory with a par at the last to advance to the semifinal round for the first time.
 
“Of course, you need to find greens, give yourself looks and minimize mistakes. But playing 36 holes today and 36 holes yesterday, it’s trying to weather the storm on top of playing your opponent,” said Tylke, who’s been playing on a fractured left knee for nearly two months. “The knee is getting rough. I’m not sure I have two more rounds physically, but I have two more mentally.”
 
The semifinal round of the 43^rd MGA Players’ Championship gets underway at 8 a.m. Wednesday at Spring Hill Golf Club.