Gophers' Free Nearly Perfect in Win Over Busker at MGA Women's Match Play

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
 
 
  DELLWOOD, Minn. – Despite a bogey on the opening hole of the championship match at the 2021 Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Amateur Match Play Championship, University of Minnesota golfer Joanne Free played mistake-free golf over her final 14 holes Thursday at Dellwood Country Club to earn a victory over Shelby Busker, 4 and 3.
 
Free becomes the third consecutive Gopher golfer to win the championship behind Grace Kellar in 2019 at Dahlgren Golf Course and Grace Curran in 2020 at The Wilds Golf Club.
 
“I putted really well and made some clutch putts this week,” Free said. “I didn’t miss anything from three to six feet, which is key in match play when you don’t put yourself within [conceded putt] distance. My short game was good, too. All the nitty gritty stuff was good this week.
 
“I take a lot of confidence and self-belief from this—it’s the satisfaction of hard work paying off.”
 
Free managed a quick 1-up lead after Busker’s tee shot found the penalty area left of the first fairway. She would card consecutive pars over the next eight holes to take a 2-up lead over Busker to the final nine holes.
 
Sinking a birdie from eight feet at the par-5 11^th extended Free’s lead to three over Busker and the Gopher played a steady final four holes, closing out the match at the 15^th with a par to win, 4 and 3.
 
“Overall, the four days, it was very much a grind out there,” Free said following her win Thursday. “I had a lot of hard matches and had to play good golf. My mindset today was to keep grinding it out and never let my mind slip or take my eye off the ball,” Free said. “I wanted to make pars and take my chances when I had them and not lose to a bogey.
 
“Every day I got up really quickly and hadn’t been down until my match against [Herzog]. It was a normal feeling to get up early, but I never felt like I was in control and it was very much a next-hole mindset.”
 
Opening the championship with a win over Mallory Belka, 4 and 2, Free would then get past former Gopher golfer Paige McCullough, 1-up, to reach Wednesday’s quarterfinals, where she cruised with win over Maggie Veenendall, 7 and 6.
 
Trailing new teammate Leah Herzog by two after 12 holes in Wednesday’s semifinal match, Free carded three birdies in a five-hole span to earn a spot in the championship match with a come-from-behind win over Herzog, 2 and 1.

Free entered her senior season at Minnesota selected as a Big Ten Golfer to Watch and would notch the best finish of her career at the Indiana Spring Challenge, where she tied for ninth.
 
The 23-year-old originally from Gullane, Scotland will opt for a fifth year of eligibility with the Gophers this fall. Undecided after college, Free said coaching collegiately has always been an interest.
 
Busker edged Isabelle Lynch, 1-up, to begin the championship early Tuesday and would eliminate fellow Detroit Lakes High School alumni Maddi Herzog by the same tally to reach the quarterfinals early Wednesday.
 
Helped by a pair of late birdies to recapture the lead during her match against Taylor Ledwein, Busker held on to oust the 2018 champion, 3 and 1. She cruised to the final round with a victory over Lauren Contreras during the semifinals, 6 and 4.
 
“This week was really tough and the course was set very challenging,” Busker said Thursday. “The first day I just tried to get a feel for it, but the next couple of rounds I was trying to play each match hole by hole and make birdies when you can.
 
“Today was a little more of a struggle to get the ball within 10 feet and putts weren’t going in. I knew [Free] was going to give me a good run and I just wanted to stick to my game and my routine.”
 
Busker, who will begin her sophomore season at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis this fall, helped lead Detroit Lakes to three straight Class AA titles from 2016-2018.
 
Playing 13 rounds her freshman season, Busker carded a low round of 73 and would go on to earn Horizon League Freshman of the Year honors. Notching three top-10 finishes, Busker tied for fourth at the conference championship and was named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team.