Wherley Captures Wire-to-Wire Victory at Minnesota Golf Champions

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  EDINA, Minn. – Dropping an eagle putt from 20 feet during his back nine Saturday at Edina Country Club helped professional Jake Wherley secure a two-stroke wire-to-wire victory over Wes Buntenbach and Trent Peterson at the 50th Minnesota Golf Champions.

Wherley entered the final round with a two-stroke advantage over Buntenbach and would card a 1-under 71 on the final day to earn his second victory of the season.

“Always thankful to win a golf tournament because you never know when they’re going to come, or if they’ll come again,” Wherley said of his biggest victory to date Saturday. “I’m blessed to walk away with a win today.

“Proud of the way I hung in there and battled. I truly play once a week in section events, so I never really know which game is going to show up.”

Playing his front nine in 1-over Saturday, Wherley took charge of the championship by sinking his eagle putt from 20 feet at the par-5 12th and followed it with a two-putt birdie from 30 feet at the 13th to take a three-stroke advantage over Buntenbach and Peterson.

Despite a three-putt bogey on the final hole, Wherley carded a final-round 71 to earn his sixth career victory by shooting a 36-hole tally of 7-under 137.

“My game plan today was the same—try to hit fairways and try to hit greens. It was a lot trickier today with the wind about double what it was yesterday,” Wherley said. “Greens were still pretty firm and quick.

“Got off to a shaky start at 2-over through four holes, so I just tried to hold on because I knew there were some chances on the back with the par-5s. Thankfully, took advantage of some of those. I was scoreboard watching probably the last six holes and I was really shaky on some of those two and 3-footers coming down the stretch.”

Notching 12 top-25 finishes in 15 starts this season, Wherley pushed his earnings to over $9,300 for the 2024 season with his victory Saturday.

His first section win came in 2020 at the Minnesota PGA Fall Scramble, and he’d follow it with two section wins in 2021.

Wherley edged Andy Smith to claim the 2022 Minnesota PGA Assistants’ Championship at Edina Country Club.

Last month, the 31-year-old Wherley earned his fifth state victory at the Minnewaska Fairways Fore All Pro-Am at Minnewaska Golf Club.

A double-bogey during his back nine Saturday proved costly for Buntenbach, falling short of his second victory of the season by finishing at 5-under 139 to place tied for second with 2019 champion Peterson.

“I played really well yesterday, still had three three-putts, so I could’ve played really well. Today was exciting just being in the final group, but a roller coaster on the front,” the 27-year-old Buntenbach said following his final round Saturday. “Able a lot of birdies, very confident in the putter.

“Hot start in the beginning of the year and played really well until mid-July. Started playing really well again recently. One more section event on Tuesday, so I really want to finish strong.”

New to the Minnesota section in late 2023, Buntenbach claimed an assistants’ event in June at Geneva Golf Club for his first state win. In 25 events this season, Buntenbach captured 19 top-10 finishes to help him collect more than $14,000 in earnings.

Peterson, who claimed his 2019 Minnesota Golf Champions title at Edina Country Club, finished as low amateur Saturday, posting a final-round 69 to finish two shots back of Wherley at 5-under 139.



THE 50TH MINNESOTA GOLF CHAMPIONS
EDINA COUNTRY CLUB
EDINA, MINN.
6,709 YARDS, PAR 72


SATURDAY’S FINAL RESULTS
1. Jake Wherley (p), Perham Lakeside GC, 66-71—137
T2. Trent Peterson, Bunker Hills GC, 70-69—139
T2. Wes Buntenbach (p), Medina G&CC, 68-71—139
4. Nate Adams (p), Rush Creek GC, 71-69—140
5. Caleb VanArragon (p), Bunker Hills GC, 69-72—141
T6. Nate Deziel (p), Moorhead CC, 71-71—142
T6. Thomas Campbell (p), Swing Lab Performance, 70-72—142
T6. Ben Greve, Olympic Hills GC, 70-72—142
T9. Matthew Sandquist (p), Edina CC, 74-69—143
T9. Andrew Israelson (p), Minneapolis GC, 72-71—143
T9. Andrew McCain (p), Dellwood CC, 72-71—143


For complete tournament results go to:    https://mnpga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/mnpga24/event/mnpga2433/contest/5/leaderboard.htm