Herrick and Peterson Claim MGA Mixed Team Championship at Valleywood

By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


  APPLE VALLEY, Minn. – Prior to Tuesday’s opening round of the 26th Minnesota Golf Association Mixed Team Championship at Valleywood Golf Course, Trent Peterson and Olivia Herrick hadn’t played together since their days of junior golf.

The result was a 7-under par 65 to take a one-stroke lead over the team of Emily Israelson and Dakota Waverek as well as the team of Leigh Klasse and Leif Carlson.

Herrick and Peterson survived a furious charge by Israelson and Waverek during the final round Wednesday, winning in extra holes as both teams finished the 36-hole championship at 15-under par 129.

“We were behind right off the bat,” Peterson said following the victory Wednesday. “[Israelson and Waverek] were on fire; they made a ton of putts and I think they were 6-under through six holes. We were just trying to hang on and survive at that point. We slowly stayed with them and at the end we were able to come out on top.”

The victory for Peterson Wednesday gives him three tournament wins in the last eight days as he won his second MGA Players’ Championship June 22nd at the Classic at Madden’s Resort followed by his first Twin Cities Championship Sunday at Keller Golf Club.

“I’m so happy because I’ve played this event every year since about 2004 and I’ve come close but have never done it. To finally do it with such a great partner, I couldn’t be more excited,” he said.

Trailing Israelson and Waverek by three heading to the 14th hole, Herrick stuck her approach to three feet and Peterson would convert birdie to get within reach of the Augustana University golfers.

Israelson and Waverek would both find trouble off the tee at the 17th leading to double-bogey and saw their lead evaporate late as Herrick and Peterson made par.

Getting up-and-down on the final green, Israelson and Waverek made par, while Herrick’s birdie putt stopped inches short of the cup and Peterson tapped in to force extra holes.

Herrick nearly sank her 20-foot birdie chance on the first playoff hole as Peterson again tapped in for par before Waverek’s 8-footer to remain alive wouldn’t drop, giving Herrick and Peterson the victory.

“Walking up [14th fairway] we said we’ve both seen crazy comebacks and have come back from far behind and also lost to people who have come from behind,” Herrick said. “One of the benefits of being a little bit older is that we’ve weathered the storm and weren’t discouraged by the status of our round.”

Two players who rarely need any advice navigating most courses, were forced to rely on one another during the team event this week, which was made easier by the fact that Peterson is a former club champion at Valleywood.

“We were talking to each other all the time, especially since Trent’s played out here so much, I would ask him for feedback and where to aim on certain holes. We really played our own games but if we wanted to read together, we would,” Herrick said.

Tuesday’s opening round was a standard four-ball format before switching to an alternate shot during the final round, both of which seemed to benefit Herrick and Peterson.

“I love the format—it’s so much fun and so different because you never get to play it,” Peterson said. “You can feed off each other a bit and I got to hit her beautiful drives that were right down the middle of the fairway, way closer than I would be off my tee box and hitting wedges in instead of 6-irons.”

“I think it’s really fun because it’s impossible for one person to carry the team,” Herrick said. “You both have to be in it if you want to play well. There were a lot of holes where one of us didn’t hit the best drive but came back and made a putt so you feel very engaged the whole round.”

Peterson, the 2014 MGA Player of the Year, has now amassed 19 career amateur wins in the state, leaving just the Minnesota Golf Champions the lone tournament that he’s eligible to play in that he has not won.

Herrick’s resume is equally impressive as she’s notched 24 amateur victories in the state following her win Wednesday, earning MGA Women’s Player of the Year honors three times.

Peterson finished tied for third with partner Sara Detlefson at last year’s event, shooting 9-under par 135 at Oak Glen Golf Course, while Herrick finished tied for 11th with partner Ben Freeman at 2-under.

“We started off strong—we were 6-under through the first five holes,” Waverek said Wednesday.

“We made a lot of putts,” Israelson added. “We came into 17 with a two-stroke lead they made par and we double-bogeyed. We were thinking birdie on the last hole.”

Israelson finishes as runner-up for the second year in a row as her and younger brother, Andrew, carded a final-round 66 last year to finish four shots behind two-time winners Cassie Deeg and Dominic Kieffer.