Uloth Ties Tournament Record with 63 to Begin 113th State Amateur at North Oaks

• 2016 MGA Amateur Rd. 2
• 2016 MGA Amateur Round 1

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By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


  NORTH OAKS, Minn. – Tying a record set by former University of Minnesota golfer and NCAA individual champion James McLean in 1998, Alex Uloth fired an 8-under par 63 Monday during the opening round of the 113th Minnesota Golf Association Amateur Championship at North Oaks Golf Club to take the early lead.

McLean shot a 63 during the second round of the 1998 championship at Rochester Golf and Country Club en route to a three-day total of 203, a record that has stood since 1971 when the championship was shortened from 72 to 54 holes.

Uloth carded a 3-under par 32 on his opening nine before rolling in an eagle and three birdies over the final nine holes Monday to take a four-shot lead to Tuesday’s second round.

“I’ve been playing good golf all summer and I was trying to play smart out there and hit the ball in the right spot,” Uloth said following his round Monday. “I had some good misses; hit a lot of greens and made some putts.

“I knew right away when I started birdie-birdie that I was hitting the ball good. The putter was rolling and from there it was just a matter of playing smart.”

During his record-tying performance Monday, Uloth, who began the first round on the 10th tee, rolled in a short birdie putt on the opening hole before nearly making an ace at the par-3 11th. He would tap in for birdie to quickly jump to 2-under for the round.

His only blemish of the day would come at the par-3 15th where he would three-putt for bogey.

Uloth, Crystal Lake Golf Club, answered by sinking his birdie from 25 feet at the 16th and tapped in for his fourth birdie of the round at the 18th, turning at 3-under for the championship.

Reaching the par-5 first hole in two, Uloth drilled a 35-foot slider for eagle to jump to 5-under. He would get to 6-under by rolling in a 15-footer for birdie at the sixth and rolled in another 25-foot birdie putt at the seventh to move to 7-under with two to play.

On his final hole, Uloth, who will be a junior at Concordia University, St. Paul this fall, put his approach at the par-5 ninth inside of a foot for his seventh birdie of the round to claim the early lead with an 8-under par 63.

Michael Schmitz, Taylor Sundbom and Erik Christopherson each carded rounds of 67 during the first round Monday and will begin the second round tied for second, four shots off Uloth’s lead.

Schmitz, Bent Creek Golf Club, rolled in two birdies on his opening nine before carding three more birdies with one bogey over the final nine holes. “The plan was to keep the ball in play, hit the greens and make putts where I was supposed to,” Schmitz said Monday.

“Overall, I hit the ball well off tee. I think the back is easier than the front, so the fact that I shot 34—I’m very happy with the round today.” Schmitz put his second shot to 12 feet at the par-5 first hole where he would two-putt for birdie before drawing even with a bogey at the second.

Narrowly missing an ace at the par-3 eighth hole, Schmitz’s tee shot stopped three inches from the cup for his second birdie on the front and would roll in a third at the par-5 ninth to turn at 2-under.

Schmitz hit a 4-iron to four feet at the par-3 15th, leading to birdie which would move him to 3-under and he finished the day tied for second at 67 following yet another two-putt for birdie on the final hole.

“I’ve been playing well for the past three or four weeks so I’d like to do as well as I possibly can,” he said. “I’ve been putting the ball well and I’ve added about 20 yards to my driver since last year, which is huge.”

Using that length to his advantage, Schmitz birdied three of the four par-5’s during the opening round Monday, piping his tee shot 340 yards at the 18th, leaving just 145 yards to the flag.

Sundbom, Ridgeview Country Club, opened with a steady front nine Monday, carding birdies at the first and ninth holes to turn at 2-under before dropping a stroke with a bogey at the par-4 10th.

He would bounce back three birdies over the final seven holes to card a 67 to finish in a three-way tie for second after the first 18 holes of competition.

“I felt like things were going well right away, the first few holes were pretty stress-free,” Sundbom said. “I didn’t have any tough bogey putts and I hit 16 greens today and one of those was on the fringe.

“Ball striking was good and I probably missed four or five putts inside of 10 feet for birdie, so I left some out there, but I’m really happy with where I ended up today. Every year I hope to contend and I haven’t done it in the past—for some reason this one has kind of eluded me. This year I’ve tried to focus on not making it bigger than it is and go into it like any normal round.”

Christopherson, StoneRidge Golf Club, carded two early birdies to quickly move to 2-under before taking back-to-back bogeys at the fifth and sixth to slip to even par.

He would turn at 1-under following a birdie at the par-5 ninth and added three more birdies to the scorecard over the final nine holes as he will enter Tuesday’s second round four shots off the lead.

Troy Johnson, a three-time MGA Mid-Players’ champion and two-time MGA Mid-Amateur champion, began the tournament Monday with a double-eagle at the par-5 first hole from 244 yards with a 3-wood.

Johnson, Medina Golf and Country Club, finished the first round tied for sixth at 2-under par 69.

“I was pretty nervous because I wasn’t hitting it very good on the driving range,” Johnson said about his double-eagle Monday. “I hit a good drive and a great 3-wood a little left of the pin. I thought it was about 15 feet and [Jesse Bull and Justin Burleson] said it came right back to the hole. I went up and there was no ball on the green, so it went right in—it was a pretty good start.”

The 113th MGA Amateur Championship continues Tuesday as tee times are scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. at North Oaks Golf Club. Following Tuesday’s second round, the field will be cut to the top-60, plus ties, ahead of Wednesday’s final round.