Ebner's Win at Minnesota State Junior Boys' Championship Fuels Extra Motivation for U.S. Junior Amateur

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org


  WINONA, Minn. – Jack Ebner has been a crucial piece of the Edina boys golf team in each of the past two seasons. While the Hornets lost to Wayzata in back-to-back Section 6AAA championships, Ebner qualified as an individual twice and notched two top-20 finishes.

Just days short of competing in his first USGA event at the U.S. Junior Amateur Monday at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan., Ebner picked the perfect time to turn in his most impressive performance to date, shooting a final-round 69 Tuesday to win the 91st Minnesota State Junior Boys’ Championship by four shots at The Bridges.

“This really solidifies all the work I’ve been putting in lately,” Ebner said after his win Tuesday. “It gives me a confidence boost and after qualifying for the U.S. Junior I’ve started to make a name for myself, which is fun. My game is really coming around to where I think it should be.

“I played really smart and avoided trouble. I committed to every shot and didn’t make any high numbers, which was really easy to do out there. My putting from five to 12 feet was really solid.”

Stumbling on the opening hole, Ebner missed a short par putt to begin the final round Tuesday, but rebounded with back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes and would draw even with Haley with a birdie at the par-3 sixth, while Haley carded bogey.

“After that bogey it kind of got my nerves out of the way and I could start attacking some pins and let me play my game,” Ebner said of his start to the final round Tuesday. Haley would regain a slim one-shot lead after Ebner’s back-to-back bogeys to close out the front nine.

Ebner quickly regained his composure by birdying the 10th and 11th holes, sticking both of his approaches inside of eight feet to take his first lead of the championship.

He clinged to a one-stroke lead after a bogey at the 13th, but increased the margin by converting his birdie look at the 14th to go up by two. While Haley took bogeys at the 15th and 18th holes, Ebner played a steady final four holes, rolling in consecutive pars to shoot 70 and claim a four-shot victory at 139, the only finish below par in the 141-player field.

“I wasn’t sure what the people in front of me were doing, it wasn’t until my [par putt] went in on 18 that I thought I had it won,” Ebner said. “I ended up winning by four.”

Shooting 5-under par 68 last month at Emerald Greens Golf Club, Ebner survived a playoff to earn a trip to his first national championship. Looking forward to the opportunity to compete at the national level early on, Ebner now has his sights set on something bigger.

“Initially, once I qualified I was excited to make it and no matter how I played it would be a good experience,” Ebner said. “Now I’ve only shot one competitive round over par this summer, so I’m going into expecting to make match play.”

Ebner will begin his freshman year at Miami University in Ohio this fall.

Haley began the championship with a solid round of even par 71 Monday, posting one birdie with one bogey on each side and began the final round tied for second, one shot back.

With two birdies over the first three holes to begin the final round Tuesday, Haley quickly moved to the top of the leaderboard before distancing himself from the field with an eagle at the par-5 fifth to take a two-stroke lead over Ebner.

Haley would run into trouble on the ensuing hole by taking a bogey at the par-3 sixth and would card four more bogeys over his final 12 holes to shoot a final-round 72 to finish in second place at 143, four shots back of Ebner.

Matt Turner turned in the low round of the championship Tuesday, shooting 5-under par 66 to finish tied for third at 144 along with Lincoln Johnson and Henry May.