Israelson Edges Reddig For A Second Time to Win First MGA Players' Title

June 26, 2019 | 6 min.

 
By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
 
 
  BECKER, Minn. – When Andrew Israelson and Parker Reddig met during the quarterfinal round of the Minnesota Golf Association Players’ Championship last season at The Jewel Golf Club, Reddig created some late-round fireworks by carding an eagle on the 17th hole as the two would play 21 holes before Israelson rolled in a birdie to advance to the semifinals.
 
The two met again Wednesday in the finals of the 41st MGA Players’ Championship at Pebble Creek Golf Club, but it was Israelson who pulled away late and hung on to get the better of Reddig for a second straight season, giving Israelson his first Players’ title.
 
“Last year we both played good, but it was a lot like this year’s match where we each had about three or four mishaps and opened the door for the other guy,” Israelson said of his rematch with Reddig Wednesday. “I was a little squirrely off the tee, but I still scrambled well.
 
“My game’s been struggling a little bit at the start of the summer, but I really thought I found my putting. My wedge game is solid and I’m really happy with the way I struck the ball. I just love playing MGA Tournaments—it’s great to meet new people and see the old faces as well. I’m only 21, but it seems like I’ve been around a while.”
 
Israelson still has a way to go to match father, Bill, in the win column as the elder Israelson won three Minnesota State Junior Boys’ titles and three consecutive State Amateur titles before turning professional in 1980. As one of the state’s best players, Bill has hoisted every trophy available to professionals in the state, as well as making three appearances at the U.S. Open.
 
Following his win Wednesday, the younger Israelson took a jab at his dad when handed the Players’ trophy, “That’s two he doesn’t have—a state tournament and the state match play.”
 
Israelson, who will begin his senior season at North Dakota State University this fall, adds another win to his golf resume, which already includes a win at the 2018 MGA Mixed Amateur Team Championship, two Birchmont titles and a victory at the Minnesota State Junior Boys’ Championship just weeks after his individual win at the Class AA tournament.
 
He was the first recipient of the Mr. Golf award in 2016, given to the best male golfer during his senior season.
 
“Last year I played really well in the summer and didn’t win a single tournament. It feels nice to get a win early and definitely helps the confidence,” Israelson said. “It’s nice to get a win before [USGA qualifiers and MGA State Amateur]. It shows me I can compete with all the people at this level and help me compete at a higher level.”
 
Reddig’s Round of 16 win over Max Tylke, 2 and 1, was the smallest margin of victory for both him and Israelson in a total of 10 matches between the two, without either playing the 18th hole until the final match late Wednesday.
 
In a back-and-forth chess match for most of the final round, Israelson was tested early, getting out of trouble early by rolling in a 15-footer for birdie after his second at the par-5 second found the sand, keeping the match square.
 
Reddig grabbed the first lead after Israelson missed the fourth green long and left and was unable to get up-and-down to save par. Israelson responded by sinking another lengthy putt at the sixth to even the match.
 
The two remained deadlocked until Israelson’s approach at the par-4 11th rolled inside of four feet, where he converted birdie to take his first lead of the match. Stumbling at the 13th and 14th holes, Israelson carded consecutive bogeys as momentum switched back in favor of Reddig.
 
A pair of wayward tee shots late in the round proved costly, leading to two straight bogeys for Reddig as he relinquished his lead at the 15th hole. With pars on the final two holes, Israelson hung on two win, 1-up.
 
“Playing six rounds, there’s definitely a little fatigue involved. The course was the firmest and fastest today and the wind was up in the second match, so it played difficult again,” Israelson said. “The pins out there were relatively easy, but they were also sneaky hard, because anything past the hole was straight downhill. That’s what I struggled with against Parker. I hit good shots in, but I’d be above the hole and couldn’t be aggressive at all.”
 
“I played 33 holes today and of the greens I hit, I was above the hole 75 percent of the time.”
 
Opening up the championship with a victory over Brennan Hockman, 5 and 4, Israelson then got past Jim Foss, 4 and 3, to reach the Round of 16 Tuesday. Bouncing Caleb VanArragon, 4 and 3, Israelson reached the quarterfinals to face Hunter Rebrovich, winning 4 and 2.

Taking a 1-up lead over 66-year-old Steve Whittaker to the back nine of his semifinal match, Israelson made four birdies in a six-hole span to reach the final match.

Leading up to the final match Wednesday, Reddig had earned two of the most impressive victories before falling in the final. During his quarterfinal match against Joel B. Johnson Tuesday, Reddig collected four birdies and an eagle over his opening nine holes to jump out to a sizable 6-up lead before closing out the match, 8 and 6.
 
Playing two-time Players’ champion Trent Peterson in Wednesday’s early semifinal action, Reddig again found his rhythm on the front nine, carding four birdies and an eagle beginning at the fifth hole, and continued the onslaught to the back nine where he birdied the 10th. He would close out Peterson at the 14th hole with his seventh birdie of the match.
 
“I won my five previous matches and I knew playing Andrew was going to be as tough as any of them,” Reddig said Wednesday. “He’s played great all week and I figured I would stick to the same game plan and try to hit the same shots into the holes and same tee balls. Execution was really the only thing that fell apart for me. I just didn’t hit it as close as I [was previously]. I lost my driver in the final round and it didn’t put me in position.
 
“We both made some good putts, we both made some clutch puts, but he just made more. It was a great match, a fair fight. He’s the only one that’s beaten me in two years.”
 
Wrapping up his sophomore season at Florida State University earlier this spring, Reddig said he didn’t find his way into the lineup as much as he had hoped and is determined to be a fixture at Seminole events during his final two seasons.
 
“I have a lot to learn from this final match, but this week has been an absolute success,” he said. “I found parts of my game that have been missing for a while. I’m looking forward to [MGA State Amateur and Minnesota State Open] and qualifiers.
 
“I’m starting to buckle down and I realize that if this is something I want to keep doing, I need to work harder than ever. The last couple of days things have been coming together.”
 
The 42nd MGA Players’ Championship will be played at Spring Hill Golf Club.
 
 

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