Heinen Unstoppable on Way to 2nd Straight Resorters Title

ALEXANDRIA -- It was almost as much a clinic as it was a competition last week as Nick Heinen cruised to his second consecutive championship in the Resorters Tournament. 

The Oklahoma State sophomore-to-be won his first two matches 7&6 and 6&5, and he dispatched 16-year-old Lincoln Johnson 6&5 Saturday afternoon in the final at Alexandria Golf Club.

He saw the 14th tee twice in his five matches. The first time was Friday in a 2&1 quarterfinal victory over 2009 Resoters champ Jim Lehman (the brother of PGA and Champions Tour star Tom Lehman). Heinen birdied the first, fifth and seventh holes as he bolted out to a 4-up lead. Lehman took advantage of Heinen's only bogey of the round, at the eighth, and he staged an inspired comeback on the back nine. 

It started with a birdie at the 11th, and he won the 470-yard, par-5 12th as well, but that small triumph was indicative of just how difficult it was to win a hole against Heinen. Lehman claimed the hole for his side of the ledger by chipping in for an eagle, but he then had to dodge a bullet in the form of a 15-foot eagle putt by his opponent.

"He (Heinen) hit a 7-iron for his second shot," the former MGA Mid-Amateur champ noted. "All the par-5's were short irons or mid-irons for him, and four of the par-4's were drivable -- for him."

Lehman was 4 under par on the back nine but it wasn't enough. He parred the 13th and birdied the 550-yard, par-5 14th, but so did Heinen, who closed the match out with a birdie to win the 16th and a par to halve the 17th.

"If we had gotten to the 18th, he would have had an advantage there," Lehman said, "because that was another of the par-4's that he can drive. He was very impressive." 

Lehman would have needed a par at the 18th for a 69. Heinen could have parred the 18th for a 67. 

In the semifinals on Saturday morning, Heinen beat Geoff Kline 2&1. Birdies at the sixth, seventh and 10th holes had Heinen 2 up, but Kline retaliated with birdies at the 11th and 12th to reduce deficit to one hole. The defending champ birdied the 15th to go 2 up once again, and he closed out the match by halving the 16th and 17th with pars. 

Heinen, who won the Resorters Junior Division twice, and was a runner-up in the Championship Division twice before winning it (in 2013 and '14), wasted no time in assertinig himself against Johnson. He won the first two holes with birdies. Another birdie at the par-5 sixth put him 3 up. Johnson birdied the eighth to cut the deficit to 2 down, but that was a temporary reprieve. Once they got to the other side of the road, and the back nine, Heinen was golf's version of Genghis Khan, an irresistable force overwhelming his opponent. He drove the greens at the par-4 10th and par-4 11th and hit the green at the par-5 12th in two, a burst that resulted in three consecutive birdies and a 5-up lead.

At the 190-yard, par-3 13th, he won the hole with a par, and that was that.

Basically, Heinen summed up his week with this: "When I'm hitting my driver good, I get close to the green and it sets me up for a lot of birdies." 

He was 6 under for the 13 holes he needed to defeat Johnson.

Johnson, who will begin his junior year at Chaska High School in a few weeks, had earned a spot in the final with a 1-up conquest of Andrew Lindberg. It had been Lindberg who knocked off the tournament's No. 2 seed (behind Heinen), medalist Ryan Gallagher in the first round. Gallagher won the stroke-play qualifying portion of the tournament with a 67.  

In the Women's Division, Kate Smith added to her collection of hardware. The five-time Minnesota state high school champ from Detroit Lakes was playing in the Resorters for the first time, and her debut was a success. She beat Jenna Janu 1 up in the final. 

Jenna had beaten her sister Brianna, the 2015 champion, in the semifinals.  


Resorters Tournament

At Alexandria Golf Club

Alexandria

Men's Championship Division

Quarterfinals

Nick Heinen, Edmund, Okla., def. Jim Lehman, Minneapolis, 2&1

Geoff Klein, St. Peter, def. Drew Engelking, Edina, 1 up

Andrew Lindberg, Coppell, Texas, def. Bryant Black, Alexandria, 1 up

Lincoln Johnson, Chaska, def. Mack Farley, Lakeville, 4&3

Semifinals 

Heinen def. Klein

Johnson def. Lindberg

Final

Heinen def. Johnson 6&5

Women's Division 

Final

Kate Smith, Detroit Lakes, def. Jenna Janu, Glenwood, 1 up

Executive Men's

Final

Dave Carothers, Buffalo,  def. JT Johnson, Woodbury, 5&3

Senior Men's

Final

Greg Mattson, Becker, def. Jim Arnold, Plymouth, 2&1

Masters

Final

Dan Elton, Moorhead, def. Dave Harris, Alexandria, 6&4

Junior 13-15

Final

Nate Adams, Maple Grove, def. Cecil Belisle, Red Wing, 2 up

Junior 10-12

Final

Bennett Olsen, Alexandria, def. Zach Stennes, Minnetonka, 2 up