Peterson Nearly Ties Course Record to Take Lead at Minnesota State Open

By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


COON RAPIDS, Minn. – Firing a 9-under par 63 Friday, Trent Peterson narrowly missed tying the course record to open the 97th Minnesota State Open at Bunker Hills Golf Club.

Peterson, Valleywood Golf Course, shot the second lowest score in the history of the event as Neil Johnson carded a 10-under par 62 to set the course record during the 2005 championship.

Peterson takes a five-stroke lead into the second round over 2010 champion Clayton Rask, professional Justin Smith, amateur Scott Gustafson and 2014 Minnesota Golf Association Amateur champion Jesse Bull, all of whom carded a 4-under par 68.

“It went great all day. I hit 17 greens and made a couple of five or six-footers for birdie, but I also made another four from 20-25 feet,” Peterson said. “I was giving myself uphill putts all day and the hole looked big today.”

With four birdies on the front nine, Peterson headed to the back at 4-under par 32. He rolled in back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th before making three consecutive birdies to drop to 9-under for the day.

Peterson’s only blemish came at the par-3 17th hole where he made bogey, but he responded by sticking his approach on the final hole to less than three feet to make birdie and finish the opening round at 63.

“My driver was the only sketchy part of my game today. I hit it in the trees on some holes and was able to get out okay. For the most part it was the putter today—I popped in on the green and made the putt,” he said.

While Friday’s round certainly ranks near the top of his career best, Peterson shot a 61 during his college days at South Dakota State University.

Rask, Riverwood National Golf Club, grabbed the early lead in the clubhouse Friday after the morning swing of tee times shooting 4-under par 68 despite a slow start.

Teeing off on the tenth hole, Rask made back-to-back bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes to quickly fall to 2-over for the day. He would respond with birdies on the 14th and 16th to make the turn at even par 36.

Rask rolled in two more birdies on the third and fourth holes before making bogey on the fifth to go to 1-under.

Rask finished his round strong with a birdie on the seventh hole to move to 2-under before making an eagle on the 560-yard ninth hole to finish his round tied for second at 4-under par 68.

“Today went well minus the start,” Rask said. “Two bogeys that I really didn’t want to start with. I went in the bunker on ten and hit it to about three feet and missed that with a hard lip out. I went for it in two on 11 and hit an uncharacteristic hook into the hazard and made bogey.”

“It was a good day—it could’ve been a lot better and could’ve been a little worse. I got out of some trouble but it’s good. I haven’t necessarily been swinging it that well the last couple of weeks.”

Rask finished tied for 63rd at last month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst Village, N.C.

Smith, University Golf Course, will begin Saturday’s round tied for second and five shots off the lead after rolling in three birdies with a double-bogey on his opening nine holes to make the turn at 1-under par 35. He rolled in three more birdies over the final nine holes to card a 68.

Coming off his biggest amateur victory Wednesday on his home course at Golden Valley Golf and Country Club, Jesse Bull continued his superb play Friday as he finished the opening round tied for second at 4-under par 68.

Bull made four birdies on his opening nine with one bogey to shoot 3-under par 33 at the turn. He would cruise on the final nine with eight consecutive pars before rolling in birdie on his final hole of the afternoon to finish at 68.

Gustafson, Hazeltine National Golf Club, will also begin the second round tied for second place, as he made bogey to start the championship to quickly drop to 1-over.

With birdies on the seventh and ninth holes, Gustafson made the turn at 1-under before getting on a hot streak early on the back nine. With four consecutive birdies beginning on the 11th hole, Gustafson quickly shot to 5-under before a bogey on the 17th dropped him back to 4-under where he would finish his opening round.

“I was a great round today for me. I stumbled out of the office at noon, trying to have some fun out here and actually put a good round together,” Gustafson said. “I’ve been playing a lot at the club, but I haven’t played a ton of competitive golf this summer so it’s fun to have it translate to when it counts during a tournament.”

“I struck the ball well and had a couple of good breaks go my way,” he said. “I got myself into a couple of difficult positions and scrambled for birdie. I turned what could’ve been a bogey into a birdie twice and that makes the difference for a good round versus a mediocre one.”

The 97th Minnesota State Open continues Saturday with the second round beginning at 7:30 a.m. at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids, Minn.


For complete tournament results go to: http://mnpga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/mnpga14/event/mnpga1445/contest/4/leaderboard.htm