McLaughlin Cards 69 at Bunker Hills to Qualify for U.S. Mid-Am Along With Four Others

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By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


COON RAPIDS, Minn. – With a 3-under par 69 Tuesday at Bunker Hills Golf Club, Mark McLaughlin earned medalist honors and a spot in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.

The qualifier was held to determine the field at this year’s tournament, which will be played September 6-11 at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa., as 67 players competed for five qualifying spots Tuesday.

McLaughlin, Minneapolis, played a very steady round as he started on the back nine with four consecutive pars before a birdie on the 14th put him at 1-under.

He would get to 3-under with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th and would cruise over the final 10 holes, making par to finish his round at 69.

“I didn’t do anything really that special—I didn’t make any mistakes off the tee and kept it in play and was going for the center of the green most of the time,” McLauglin said Tuesday after qualifying. “I hit a couple close and avoided making bogeys.”

After a disappointing showing during the Minnesota Golf Association Amateur Championship a week ago, McLaughlin said he tried to stay clear of setting high expectations Tuesday.

“Having expectations was one of the things I was trying not to do today. I played the [Amateur] last week and expected to play well and didn’t play as well as I had hoped,” he said.

McLaughlin’s said he didn’t hit any balls prior to Tuesday’s round, but simply putted for a few minutes on the practice green. In the end he qualified for his first ever USGA event.

Dylan Gergen, Mendota Heights, Minn., carded a 2-under par 70 Tuesday to earn a spot in the championship and continues his stellar play.

Gergen won his second Twin Cities Championship last month and finished eighth at the Minnesota State Open Sunday at Bunker Hills.

Also qualifying for his first USGA event, Gergan started steady before a bogey on the fifth hole put him at 1-over, but would roll in a birdie on the eighth to make the turn at even par.

Gergen went back to 1-over with another bogey on the 10th, but responded with a birdie on the 11th to get back to even. With birdies at the 15th and long par-3 17th, Gergen made par on his final hole to card a 70 to punch his ticket to the championship.

“I had a little slow start but hung in there and hit a bunch of greens and finished strong,” Gergen said. “I was thinking that under par would probably do it, but I had a bad bogey on the 10th—I hit my tee shot left, which you can’t do. I came back and birdied 11, 15 and hit it to about six inches on 17, which always helps.”

Eric Deutsch, Rochester, Minn., will join McLaughlin and Gergen as he fired a 1-under par 71 to qualify Tuesday.

Deutsch, winner of the MGA Amateur and Twin Cities Championship in 2002, had a rough start with three bogeys and a birdie over the first five holes, but quickly got things under control with a second birdie on the 17th to limit the damage and make the turn at 1-over par 37.

On the final nine holes, Deutsch was able to roll in two more birdies at the fourth and fifth holes and would finish his day with three pars to card a 1-under par 71.

“I was going off memory because I haven’t played here since the State Open in 2006,” he said. “I had awful three-putts on the first and third hole, but from then forward I think I hit every green and had some a couple of short birdie putts.”

Deutsch qualified for the U.S. Amateur in 2005 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., but played little golf after graduating from the University of Notre Dame.

“I started playing a little bit last year and this year my wife said I should give it a go, so I’ve been playing and practicing. I’m very excited to qualify.”

Shooting an even par 72, Jeremy Decko earned a qualifying spot as he started on the 10th hole with a bogey to quickly go to 1-over. He rebounded with back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes to move to 1-under, but made the turn at even par with a bogey on the 17th.

Decko, Carlos, Minn., rolled in another birdie on the fourth to get back to 1-under but missed his par putt on the eighth to finish the day at 72.

Tommy Clement, Mobile, Ala., needed extra holes to lock up the final qualifying spot after carding a 1-over par 73 Tuesday.

Tony Brown, Plymouth, Minn., and Phillip Ebner, Edina, Minn., finished as first and second alternates, respectively, both carding rounds of 1-over par 73.


For complete tournament results go to: http://www.mngolf.org/Tournament/US_Mid-Amateur_Sectional_Qualifying_3