Johnson, Peterson, Burleson Share Medalist Honors in Mid-Am Qualifying

August 30, 2017 | 9 min.


STILLWATER -- It was nine years ago this month that Troy Johnson staged the greatest comeback in the history of Minnesota golf.

Trent Peterson was leading the 2008 Minnesota State Public Links Championship with four holes to go at Chaska Town Course. He played those last four holes in 1 under. That should have been good enough. But in this case it wasn't -- because Johnson played those last four holes in 5 under (birdie, birdie, birdie, eagle), and then defeated Peterson on the third hole of a playoff. 

(Johnson's spectacular comeback prevented Peterson from winning what could be considered the modern Minnesota Amateur Triple Crown -- the MGA Players Championship, the State Amateur and the Publinx -- something no one has ever done. As a matter of fact, Peterson came within two strokes of winning the State Open that year, as well. If you think of the Players, the State Am, the State Publinx and the State Open as Minnesota's Amateur Grand Slam, no one else has come nearly as close to achieving it as Peterson did in '08. And there's a pretty good chance that no one ever will.)

On Wednesday, Johnson and Peterson tied again. This time, they didn't have to play it off. 

They both shot 3-under-par 69's at Indian Hills Country Club in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying. Justin Burleson matched them at 69, as they claimed three of the four spots available. Joe O'Brien, a former assistant professional at Minneapolis Golf Club, got the last spot by shooting 71 and then winning a playoff against MGC member Tom Whaley. The playoff started at the 480-yard, par-5 18th, and both parred it. So they played it again, and O'Brien won with a par.

Whaley thus became the first alternate. The second alternate is Tim Peterson, who shot 72 and then won a three-man playoff, which was also contested on No. 18. That playoff for second alternate came down to a chipping and putting competition, because Peterson, Ben Greve and Riley Conlin were all in similar positions after their second shots at the 18th. Peterson and Greve were both on the green; Conlin was about 6 feet off the front left edge. From there, he chipped 5 feet past the hole. Peterson, who was putting for eagle from about 60 feet, left his putt 4 feet short. Greve's eagle putt was roughly 45 feet, but he wound up with the longest birdie putt, just outside of Conlin's, and the reigning two-time State Open champion missed it.

Conlin missed, too. Peterson (Tim) didn't miss. 

The 2017 Mid-Am will be played Oct. 7-12 at Capital City Club in Atlanta.

Johnson and Trent Peterson were both happy they didn't have to be in a playoff Wednesday. Burleson was in full agreement. A tie for first was fine with him. The winner of the 2016 State Publinx Mid-Am title, he has finished second in three of the Minnesota's biggest amateur tournaments this year. In June, he lost to Peterson in the final of the Mid-Players Championship. A week later, he avenged that loss with a  victory over Peterson in the semifinals of the Players Championship, but then lost to Jacques Wilson in the final of that tournament.

Then, earlier this month, Burleson lost by a single stroke (141 to 142) to Joe Conzemius in the State Publinx at Dakota Pines. (Conzemius shot 73 on Wednesday at Indian Hills, just missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole that would have put him into the playoff for second alternate.)

The 34-year-old Burleson, who had never qualified for a USGA championship before, started his round inauspiciously, with a bogey on No. 1 (390 yards, par 4), but he didn't really mind.

"I birdied the first hole the last couple of years," he noted, "and I missed by one shot both times. I thought I might as well try something different this year. Besides, I had a lot of holes left, and I knew there were birdies out there. I just needed to hit the shots."

He proceeded to do that, beginning at the 538-yard, par-5 second, where he hit a wedge to 6 feet and made the putt for a 4. He didn't make any more bogeys the rest of the round, but he birdied two of the par-3's -- No. 6 and No. 14 -- and he reached the 497-yard, par-5 12th with a hybrid second shot and two-putted for a birdie.   

As pleased as Burleson was to have qualified, Wednesday wasn't exactly a happy day for him.

"I grew up in Beaumont, Texas," he explained. "I have a lot of family still down there (he now lives in Apple Valley). So it's been tough."

This is the second year in a row that Johnson, 45, has qualified for the Mid-Am. He also made the U.S. Publinx twice before that tournament was discontinued, and he made it to the U.S. Amateur in 2015. All of which helps to support the case for his being one of Minnesota's most successful late bloomers. He didn't win his first state championship until 2007, when he was 35 and combined with Brent Jacobson to win the State Publinx Four-Ball.

In the 10 years since then, he's won seven individual state titles, including three Mid-Players championships, two MGA Mid-Ams and the 2011 State Open. 

He hasn't won anything -- yet -- this year, and putting has been a big part of the reason for that. 

"I've been hitting the ball about as well as I've ever hit it," he said, "but my putting has been about as bad as it's ever been. I'm not nervous, and my stroke feels fine. I'm starting the putts on the line I want, but then I look up and it's not breaking the way I thought it would. I've just had a lot of problems reading putts, and my speed on the greens hasn't been all that great, which helps to explain why I've had trouble reading the putts. If your speed is off, then your putt won't track the way you expect it to."

Johnson's putting was still suspect on Wednesday, but his ball-striking was so good it didn't matter. 

"He hit it unbelievably well," said Whaley, who played with Johnson. "That 69 should have been a 65. At worst. He hit just about every green (17 of 18) and had so many birdie chances, it was a joke."

Johnson's putter did make a contribution early. He sank a 30-footer for birdie on the first hole. That was followed by nine consecutive pars, and some frustration over his misses from close range. His only bogey came at the par-3 11th (192 yards), and he three-putted again at the par-5 12th, but this time for par. He finally cashed in for a birdie at the 173-yard 14th, where he made a 5-footer. That got him into red numbers again (at 1 under), and that's where he stood when he arrived at the 18th tee. 

After hitting his 12th fairway of the round in 12 swings with a driver (he missed two fairways Wednesday -- No. 1 and 10 -- both times with hybrids, and both times by no more than 3 feet), Johnson hit his best shot of the day at No. 18, a hybrid from 230 yards that ended up 15 inches from the hole -- for a tap-in eagle. 

"It was a nice way to finish the round," he said, grinning.

There are five major championships available to Minnesota amateur golfers: the State Amateur, State Open, State Publinx, the MGA Players and the Minnesota Golf Champions. No one has won all five. Only three players have won four. Peterson, 30, is one of them, along with Dave Tentis and Joe Stansberry. (Neither Peterson nor Stansberry has won Golf Champions. Tentis never won the Publinx.)  

Of coiurse, Peterson has also won a state high school championship, and a State Publinx Four-Ball (with J.T. Johnson), among other titles. Earlier this year, the two-time MGA Player of the Year added the MGA Mid-Players to his collection of crowns.

On Wednesday, he had a nice run in the middle of the front nine, making birdies at No. 4 (376 yards, par 4), No. 5 (365, par 4) and No. 7 (554, par 5). He had a chance to go 4 under when he hit his second shot to 5 feet at the 407-yard, par-4 ninth, but he missed the putt. 

Peterson then hit his tee shot into the water at the par-4 10th, and made  bogey. He hit his tee shot into a bunker at the par-3 14th, which left him with an almost impossible second shot and resulted in another bogey. His round could have come undone in the next 25 minutes, because he drove it in the trees at the 15th (415, par 4) and the 16th (438, par 4). But he rescued pars on both holes, nearly chipping in for a birdie at the 15th, and he concluded his day with birdies at the 17th (433, par 4) and 18th holes to claim his share of medalist honors.     


MEN'S AMATEUR GOLF

U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying

At Indian Hills Country Club

Par 72, 6,769 yards

Final results (the top four finishers qualify for the U.S. Mid-Am Championship, Oct. 7-12 at Capital City Club in Atlanta, Ga.)


T1. Troy Johnson, Maple Grove                   35-34--69

T1. Trent Peterson, Eagan                            33-36--69

T1. Justin Burleson, Apple Valley                 35-34--69

4. Joe O'Brien, Plymouth                              36-35--71 *Won playoff with par (No. 18),  par (No. 18) 

Did not qualify

5. Tom Whaley, Edina                                   35-36--71 -- 1st alternate

6. Tim Peterson, Forest Lake                        36-36--72 -- 2nd alternate *Won playoff with birdie on first extra hole (No. 18) 

T7. Ben Greve, Golden Valley                       37-35--72

T7. Riley Conlin, Golden Valley                     36-36--72

T9. Bryce Hanstad, St. Louis Park                 33-40--73

T9. Brent Dickerman, Vadnais Heights          38-35--73

T9. Scott Gustafson, Chaska                         37-36--73

T9. Jesse Larson, Shakopee                         36-37--73

T9. Gus Kellom, Hopkins                               37-36--73

T9. Tim Hamm, Minneapolis                          37-36--73

T9. Joe Conzemius, St. Louis Park               35-38--73

T9. Jesse Bull, Hopkins                                 37-36--73 







 

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