Conn, VanArragon, Belisle and Broin Last Four Standing at MGA Players' Championship

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  MINNETRISTA, Minn. – While Ryan Conn may not have matched his career-low performance of eight birdies over his first nine holes from Monday’s Round of 32, he did enough to pick up two more wins Tuesday at Burl Oaks to advance to the semifinal round of the 44th Minnesota Golf Association Players’ Championship.

Conn, who has finished as runner-up at both the MGA Mid-Players’ and MGA Players’ Championships over the past two seasons, carded a late eagle during his Round of 16 match against Casey Nelson to boost him to a slim victory, 1-up, before defeating Josh Galvin, 5 and 4, during the quarterfinal round.

“Yesterday was an anomaly,” said Conn, who carded an 8-under 28 during his opening nine of his third-round match. “I was joking that maybe I had heat exhaustion and was in a subconscious mindset. Everything was going my way yesterday. It was a little wetter and the course was playing a little longer today."

“This morning was my first match going all 18 holes and I was kind of trailing most of the round. It was a good match, but I felt like I was just hanging around. That was definitely the match I could’ve lost."

During Tuesday's afternoon session, Conn jumped out to an early lead over Galvin and would turn with a 2-up lead before taking control of the match at the 11th, winning four consecutive holes to earn a spot in the semifinal round.

“I’m hitting it close to where I’m looking, which is key, and I haven’t had a lot of penalty shots,” Conn said. “I’m putting well—my speed feels really good.”

Conn’s only state win came in 2019 at the MGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship, teaming up with Hunter Rebrovich to claim a three-stroke victory at The Classic at Madden’s. Since his win, Conn has notched seven top-5 finishes.

He will now face 2021 Twin Cities champion and Valparaiso University golfer Caleb VanArragon when the semifinal round begins early Wednesday.

“I’m thankful to be in the hunt again this week,” Conn said. “I’m going to have one of my better rounds and really limit the bogeys. I have to hit it on the green, limit mistakes and not give anything away. You always have to apply pressure or at least make them earn everything.”

VanArragon, who didn’t play past the 14th hole during his first two rounds Monday, closed out his match against former University of Oregon golfer Sam Foust at the 16th hole with a win, 4 and 2, highlighted by a double-eagle at the par-5 12th from 173 yards with an 8-iron.

The 2018 MGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year cruised once again during the quarterfinal and closed out his match against Matthew Norgaard at the 12th hole, 7 and 6.

Cecil Belisle, who defeated Conn at the 2020 championship, took two steps closer to winning his second Players’ Championship Tuesday, defeating Nick Jarrett, 5 and 4, before overcoming an early deficit to get past North Dakota State’s Nate Adams, 6 and 5.

“After playing 38 holes in the heat yesterday, I’m not going to complain about getting off the course a little earlier today,” said Belisle, who didn’t play past the 14th hole during either round Tuesday. “I managed my mistakes well this morning and made some good up-and-downs during the second round today."

“My thing for match play is that you cannot lose to pars. If you lose to a birdie, good for him, but you have to make your opponent beat you.”

Belisle entered his first state championship of the season this week hoping to ride a wave of momentum after closing out his sophomore season at South Mountain Community College with a second straight NJCAA National Championship individual title last month.

“I’m playing well coming in. I love the ongoing process of quieting down upstairs,” he said. “I’m overthinking some shots, but I’m really trusting my game, my work ethic and my practice. I can’t exhale yet or lose focus.”

Belisle, who will transfer to the University of Kansas for his junior season this fall, was one of few players to better Derek Hitchner during his historic stretch during the 2021 season, defeating Hitchner and two-time champion Ben Greve in a playoff at the Minnesota State Open, in between Hitchner’s wins at the Trans-Mississippi Amateur the week prior and the MGA Amateur Championship the following week.

Belisle will face former Minnetonka High School standout Gunnar Broin during Wednesday’s semifinal round.

Broin fell down by three to 2019 Minnesota State Open champion Brady Madsen through 13 holes early Tuesday, but rallied with three consecutive birdies on the final three holes to earn a victory, 2-up.

Following an opposite script during the quarterfinal round against Josh Kummerfeldt, Broin jumped out to an early lead with three early birdies and never looked back, closing out the match at the 15th, 4 and 3.

“Yesterday was just a grind of a day with the heat and the wind,” Broin said. “Today I wasn’t expecting too much and tried to stay as patient as possible. My goal this afternoon was to get off to a good start—I’ve had shaky starts every match I’ve played. I started out on fire with two birdies and almost birdied the third."

“Tomorrow is going to be tough. [Belisle] is a good player, so I’ll have to be on my game and make some birdies for sure. You can’t be giving away holes against him.”

The semifinal round of the 44th MGA Players’ Championship is slated to begin at 7:30 a.m. off the 10th tee at Burl Oaks Golf Club.