McCain Cruises to Second MN State Open Title; Greve's Bid for Three-peat Falls Short Late

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
 
 
  COON RAPIDS, Minn. – Entering the final round of the 101^st Minnesota State Open with a three-shot advantage Sunday at Bunker Hills Golf Club, Andrew McCain carded a final-round 71 to earn a three-stroke victory to become the first player to win the championship as both an amateur and professional since Dave Haberle’s second victory in 1978.  
 
McCain would play his first 13 holes at 4-under par Sunday, highlighted by holing out his third shot at the par-5 11^th hole from 85 yards and would build a six-shot lead at one point before carding bogeys on his final three holes, hanging on to win his second championship in four years.
 
“I got off to a solid start hitting greens and hit a bunch of good putts today and I tried to keep it in position,” McCain said after his round Sunday. “I got a nice little kick start on 11 holing out, which really helped the round because I felt it was flat.
 
“This one was significantly different because this was the first three-day event that I led start to finish. Especially last night, having a bigger lead not just tied for the lead or one shot, trying to figure out how I would handle that situation. I wanted to come out and do the same thing and be aggressive and that’s what we did today.”
 
Shooting a pair of 68’s to begin the championship, McCain came out firing again Sunday by birdying the opening hole to move to 9-under for the tournament. After finding trees right of the fifth fairway off the tee, McCain’s par putt from 12 feet burned the left edge as he would fall back to even par for the round.
 
McCain reached the par-5 ninth in two and made a routine two-putt for birdie to take momentum to his back nine by getting back to 9-under for the championship. Despite finding a fairway bunker at the par-5 11^th, McCain hit his second shot to 85 yards and would spin his ball back into the cup for eagle to take control of the tournament at 11-under par.
 
Left with a short approach at the par-4 13^th hole, McCain’s approach stopped within six feet and he would convert his birdie look to move to 12-under and six shots clear of two-time defending champion Ben Greve at that point.

“After the birdie at 13 I felt like I built a big enough of a cushion that I could cruise in and that was nice and pretty stress-free coming down the stretch.”
 
Staying out of trouble the majority of his final round Sunday, McCain would card three late bogeys to shoot a final-round 71 and finish three shots better than Ross Miller, who carded three straight birdies to finish alone in second place at 6-under par 210.
 
McCain, who turned 24 in April, claimed his first State Open victory in 2015 at Mendakota Country Club, defeating Clayton Rask by one stroke to earn his biggest victory as an amateur. With pending nuptials during last year’s championship, McCain decided to skip the championship, making this year’s victory a little bit sweeter.
 
“That makes this one really special. Last year Renee and I got married on the Sunday of the State Open. She said I could play as long as I made the wedding, but I thought that would be a bad idea. So to come back again this year and win and have her here and to be able to celebrate our anniversary together is awesome.”
 
The first professional to win the event since Ryan Peterson in 2012, McCain becomes the fourth player to win the tournament as both an amateur and a professional. Pat Sawyer accomplished the feat first, winning as an amateur in 1935 and as a professional in 1936 and 1956. Les Bolstad won as an amateur in 1933 and professionally in 1938, 1939 and 1943. Most recently, Haberle won as an amateur in 1970 before claiming the 1978 tournament as a professional.

Since turning professional in 2017, McCain has earned two starts on the Web.com Tour.
 
Greve claimed low-amateur honors Sunday following his round of 2-under par 70, finishing on a disappointing note by taking double-bogey on the final hole to place tied for third with professional Eddie Wynne at 4-under par 212.
 
“The first couple of days were kind of sloppy,” Greve said Sunday, “I’d make a soft bogey here and there to kill any momentum. Today I knew I’d have to shoot [8-under par] and get some help. I played well on the front and had good opportunities on a lot of holes, but just couldn’t get them to go. It’s fun to compete and to play well to have a chance.”
 
 
 
101^ST MINNESOTA STATE OPEN
BUNKER HILLS GOLF CLUB
COON RAPIDS, MINN.
7,137 YARDS, PAR 72
 
 
FINAL RESULTS
1. Andrew McCain (p), Dellwood GC, 68-68-71—207
2. Ross Miller (p), Sundance GC, 71-68-71—210
T3. Eddie Wynne (p), University GC, 71-72-69—212
T3. Ben Greve, Minneapolis GC, 70-72-70—212
T5. Eric Chiles (p), Chaska TC, 71-71-71—213
T5. Joe Conzemius, Dakota Pines GC, 76-66-71—213
T5. Michael Schmitz, The Bridges, 72-68-73—213
T8. Jered Gusso, Southern Hills GC, 69-73-72—214
T8. Andrew Israelson, Vintage at Staples, 73-69-72—214
10. Caleb VanArragon, Bunker Hills GC, 70-73-72—215
 
 
For complete tournament results go to:  https://mnpga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/mnpga18/event/mnpga1835/contest/5/leaderboard.htm