Israelson Shoots 63, Leads Tapemark by 2

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WEST ST. PAUL -- Andrew Israelson took one last crack at winning the Minnesota State Amateur last summer. He didn't win, but he wasn't that far back, tying for third. 

That put him in a select group. He is one of only four players to finish in the top three for three consecutive years at the State Am. In a kind of weird twist, the four players are from two families. Carson Lee Herron actually had four top-3's in a row (2-1-2-T3) from 1932 to '35 during the State Am's Match Play Era. His grandson Tim Herron had a nice progression of T3-T2-1 from '90 to '92 -- and then went on to win four times on the PGA Tour and earn more than $19 million.

The only other player with three consecutive top-3 finishes in stroke play State Ams during the 20th Century was Israelson's father, Bill. He won in 1976, '77 and '78, and he remains the only winner of three consecutive State Ams during the Stroke Play Era. (He won two Tapemarks, as well, in 1991 and '93, not to mention the 1984 Minnesota Golf Champions and the '91 State Open.) Andrew is the only player in the 21st Century with three straight top-3's. He finished second in the 2019 State Am, and again in '20, before getting the tie for third last year.

Not long after that, he won the Birchmont for the third time, and then he turned pro.

The usual procedure for guys who turn pro late in the summer is to play in the Korn Ferry Q-School Series. But Israelson decided not to. Instead, he spent the fall and winter working on his game, with the idea that he would be better prepared for Korn Ferry Q-School in 2022.

So far, his plan seems to be working pretty well. He made it through the PGA Tour Canada Q-School this spring, and the Canadian Tour will give hm a place to further refine his game.

In the meantime, he's playing this week in the Tapemark & Minnesota PGA Pro-Am, and he's off to a good start, having shot an 8-under-par 63 at Southview Country Club on Friday in the opening round. He leads by two strokes over another recently turned professional, Trey Fessler. Brent Snyder, the three-time Minnesota Section PGA Player of the Year, is tied for third among the pros at 66, along with another member of this year's Canadian Tour, Justin Doeden.

Angus Flanagan, the former University of Minnesota All-American who won the 2021 Tapemark by 10 shots, is tied for fifth at 67, along with the 2020 champ, Chris Meyer, Brian Hills and another former Gopher, Cameron White. Andy Smith, the leader of the Player of the Year points standings this year, shot 68 in spite of a knee that had him hobbling on Friday -- "I have no idea what I did to it." -- and he's alone in ninth. 

There is a six-way tie for 10th at 69, and a 10-way tie for 16th at 70, which includes seven-time Tapemark champ Don Berry, a 17-time Minnesota PGA Player of the Year, and Jeff Sorenson, a six-time PGA Player of the Yeard and also a former Tapemark winner (2009). Also in the group is Derek Stendahl, the winner of this year's Minnesota State Senior Open.

The Tapemark was first played in 1972. It took the place of the Peters Open, which ran from 1960 to '71 at Southview. The overall championship of the Peters was won three times by amateurs -- Harry Simonson in 1964, Bob Lucas in '66, and Neil Croonquist in '68 -- but no amateur has ever beaten all of the pros in the 50-year history of the Tapemark.

That could change this year. There has never been a better collection of amateurs in the tournament, and they are led by University of Minnesota head coach Justin Smith, who shot 65 on Friday. A reinstated amateur, Smith made the putt that clinched the 2002 NCAA championship for the University of Minnesota. As a pro, he played on what is now the Korn Ferry and came close to making it onto the PGA Tour. He lost the State Open to Trent Peterson in a playoff in 2014, and he finished second in the 2016 Tapemark, behind the now wealthy former Gopher star Erik Van Rooyen, who has made more than $3 million on the PGA Tour, plus another couple of million euros. (Van Rooyen made $6,000 for winning the Tapemark, which was his first victory as a pro.)

As impressive as Smith's resume is, he might not be the best known of Ams in the field. Sam Udovich is a former National Drive, Chip and Putt champion who is now a freshman at St. Croix Lutheran. He shot 67 and is tied for second with Jesse Larson, a former two-time New England state champion from Vermont. 

The key to Flanagan's victory last year was his demolition of Southview's par-5's. His winning score was 198 (15 under) for 54 holes, and he was 13 under (9 birdies, 2 eagles) for the 12 par-5's that he played. On Friday, he could manage only 2 under (birdies on the 480-yard sixth hole and the 485-yard 18th).

But Israelson took a page of the Flanagan 2021 Playbook, and played the 5's in 5 under, with birdies at the fourth (470 yards), the sixth and the 17th, plus an eagle at the 18th. For good measure, he also birdied both of the par-3's on the front nine, the 175-yard second and the 201-yard fifth.

Fessler, who is prodigiously long even by the distorted modern standard, where 300- and even 310-yard drives are considered nothing special, was also minus 5 on the 5's, in exactly the same way, birdies on 4, 6 and 17, and an eagle at the 18th.

Doeden birdied all four. Snyder parred the fourth, but birdied 6, 17 and 18. 
   

Tapemark & Minnesota PGA Pro-Am

At Southview Country Club 

Par 71, 6,175 yards

West St. Paul

First-round results

Professional leaders

1. Andrew Israelson             63

2. Trey Fessler                     65

T3. Brent Snyder                 66

T3. Justin Doeden               66

T5. Angus Flanagan            67

T5. Chris Meyer                  67

T5. Cameron White             67

T5. Brian Hills                     67

9. Andy Smith                     68

T10. Michael Schmitz         69

T10. Jonathan Reigstad     69

T10. Josh Whalen              69

T10. Marshall Hoiness       69

T10. Jack Gustafson          69

T10. Grant Shafranski       69

T16. Don Berry                  70

T16. Jeff Sorenson            70

T16. Derek Stendahl         70

T16. Thomas Campbell     70

T16. Eric Rolland              70

T16. Aaron Nelson            70

T16. Michael Mackedanz  70

T16. Matt Newman            70

T16. Alex Gaugert             70

T16. Ryan Gallagher         70

Amateurs 

1. Justin Smith                  65

T2. Jesse Larson              67

T2. Sam Udovich              67

4. Andrew Boemer           68

5. Troy Sawyer                69

T6. Scott Fenwick           70

T6. Jordan Anderson      70

T8. Justin Burleson         71

T8. Scott Gorden             71