Warian Is Medalist & Gophers Are Team Champs at Highland Meadows
April 16, 2024
By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
EDINA, Minn. – Troy Johnson and Tyler Obermueller each fired rounds of 1-over par 71 Monday to earn a share of the first-round lead at the 114th Minnesota Golf Association Amateur Championship at Interlachen Country Club.
Johnson and Obermueller will take a one-stroke advantage over Cecil Belisle, Dave Carothers and Grady Meyer when the second round gets underway Tuesday.
“Overall I’m pretty happy—I hit the ball really well today. I had it a couple under, but I kind of limped in on my last four holes and made a couple bogeys,” Obermueller said after the first round Monday. “This is a tough golf course and you’ve got to miss it in the right spots, so I was pleased with the way I hit it.
“I just wanted to keep myself in it,” he said. “A lot of guys can shoot themselves out of it on Day One. You don’t have to shoot the lowest score, but just make a lot of pars. This course requires a lot of conservative shots and a lot of hitting the center of the green. A two-putt for par is pretty darn good out here.”
Beginning the first round on the 10th tee, Obermueller got off to a hot start Monday by birdying the 12th before drawing even with a bogey at the 15th. He would turn at 1-under after converting his birdie chance at the 225-yard, par-3 17th.
Looking to pull away from the rest of the field Monday, Obermueller again rolled in birdie from three feet at the par-3 third but would stumble late as he carded three bogeys over his final four holes to finish the opening 18 holes tied for the lead with Johnson at 71.
“I birdied a couple par-3’s out here and those are some of the toughest holes, in my opinion,” he said. “I felt pretty good about my swing all day but just made a couple bad bogeys on six and seven. Unfortunately I bogeyed the last one, too.
“I think it’s very easy for people to lose focus out here—you start missing a couple greens and bogeys are going to catch up to you very quickly."
Obermueller, a River Falls, Wis., native, played three seasons at the University of Wisconsin and is no stranger to playing against the state’s best amateur golfers, winning the Wisconsin State Amateur Championship in 2009.
Johnson also began the opening round on the tenth tee and started by carding bogey at the par-4 11th, but answered by rolling in his birdie look at the 12th. Recording bogeys at the 14th and 16th holes, Johnson finished his opening nine on a high note by converting birdie to turn at 1-over.
The three-time MGA Mid-Amateur champion would play his final nine at even par with one birdie and one bogey to sit on top of the leaderboard along with Obermueller with 36 holes to play.
“Tough conditions but I played really solid,” Johnson said of his opening-round 71 Monday. “I hit a lot of great shots and putted really well. Even though I three-putted three times, I still made a lot of good one-putts.”
Being one of the youngest golfers in the 154-player field makes Belisle’s opening-round 72 Monday even more impressive. The 16-year-old won the Class AA individual title last month to cap off his sophomore season at Red Wing High School.
On Monday, Belisle carded consecutive pars before converting his birdie chance at the par-4 sixth, but a double-bogey at the eighth would send him to his back nine at 1-over for the tournament.
Belisle regained some consistency by making on each of the first five holes on the back before carding bogeys at the 15th and 17th holes. He would bounce back by rolling in his birdie chance on the final hole to finish tied for third with a 2-over par 72.
“Overall I think I played pretty well,” he said Monday. “I need to hit more greens and I need to start hitting my irons and half-wedge shots a little more crisp. I thought I putted well but had three lip-outs that would have been nice to help me shoot lower.
“I need to keep the same clear mentality to have a chance at Wednesday and let the bad shots go and move on to the next shot.”
Carothers started on the 10th tee Monday and made bogey at the par-3 13th before rolling in his only birdie of the round at the 18th, sinking an uphill eight-footer to turn at even par.
His steady play continued to the back as he made just two mistakes, carding bogeys at the fifth and eighth holes and would finish the day tied for third at 2-over par 72.
“I wasn’t at my best today but I ended up hitting it in the right places so I was able to get up-and-down when I did hit errant shots,” Carothers said Monday. “I made a lot of pars, three bogeys and only one birdie. I missed a couple putts coming in, but I didn’t have a three-putt, so obviously that was key on these greens today.
“I hit some balls this morning before I came to the course and figured out a couple things. There are so many young bombers here, but I don’t think it’s a bombers course—it’s more of a positioning course. I need to sharpen up my irons and keep the ball in play off the tee.”
Meyer, a former University of Minnesota golfer, got off to a less than ideal start by taking bogey on his second hole before carding a double-bogey to turn at 3-over. He would bogey his 14th hole but finished strong with back-to-back birdies on his 15th and 16th holes to shoot 72.
Michael Schmitz carded a 3-over par 73 Monday and will begin the second round in sixth place, while Caleb VanArragon, Max Rosenthal and Joe Conzemius finished the opening round three shots back of the leaders at 74.
The 114th MGA Amateur Championship continues Tuesday with the second round scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. at Interlachen Country Club.
April 15, 2024
Contact Us
Have a question about the Minnesota Golf Association, your MGA membership or the contents of this website? Let us help.
