WONG NAMED EVANS SCHOLAR OF THE YEAR AT MGA ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER

EDINA, Minn. (Nov. 5, 2013) – University of Minnesota Evans Scholars Chapter House member Nina Wong was named the 2013 Minnesota Golf Association’s Fritz Corrigan Evans Scholar of the Year Nov. 4 at the MGA’s 113th Annual Awards Dinner at Brackett’s Crossing Country Club in Lakeville. Along with Wong, the MGA honored outstanding players, volunteers and club representatives for their contribution to the amateur game of golf in Minnesota. They include: Bob Ulsaker, as MGA Volunteer of the Year; and the Baker National Golf Club, as MGA Member Club of the Year.
 
The evening’s highlights also included recognition of Dr. Donald White, as the 2013 MGA Warren J. Rebholz Distinguished Service Award winner; and Sarah Burnham, Olivia Herrick, Jack Holmgren, Leigh Klasse, Jim Lehman, and Sammy Schmitz as the MGA Players of the Year (in six categories). For more information on White and the players of the year, please see this link to a press release dated Oct. 28, 2013: http://www.mngolf.org/News/MGA_Annual_Meeting__Awards_Dinner_Nov_4.
 
The MGA Fritz Corrigan Evans Scholar of the Year award is bestowed annually to the Evans Scholar from the University of Minnesota Evans Scholars Chapter House for outstanding achievement in academics, leadership and community service. Wong was the lone finalist for this year’s award.
 
Wong, a senior and nursing major at the University of Minnesota, caddied at Oak Ridge Country Club in Hopkins, Minn. She is active in volunteering at a local church where she helps cook breakfast for members. In addition, Wong volunteers at a group home where she works with and assists with people who have a variety of mental and physical disabilities. She also serves as the vice president of New Scholars in the Evans Scholar House and was also the 2013 Evans Scholars National Committee Representative. Wong intends to graduate with a degree in nursing and plans to pursue a career in oncology.
 
The Chick Evans Scholarship program is a four-year college scholarship for deserving caddies, sponsored by the Western Golf Association in association with the MGA. There are currently 865 Evans Scholars attending 19 universities around the country.
 
In 1996, the MGA renamed the Evans Scholar of the Year award in honor of Fritz Corrigan, a long-time supporter of the Evans Scholarship program who helped establish the Evans Scholars Chapter House at the University of Minnesota.
 

President’s Award

Also known as the Volunteer of the Year, the MGA President’s Award was given to Bob Ulsaker of the Meadowbrook Golf Club in Hopkins, for his exceptional volunteer service for 40 years. Ulsaker, 88, of Bloomington, began volunteering for the MGA in 1970, accumulating thousands of hours of service. He faithfully attended every MGA two-day Rules Workshop from 2000-2009 in order to stay knowledgeable on the Rules of Golf.
 
In attitude, actions and rapport with colleagues, staff, tournament players and spectators, Bob Ulsaker truly epitomizes the spirit of the MGA President’s Award, says Ken Gerzsenyi, MGA president.
 

Member Club of the Year

The Baker National Golf Club was named 2013 MGA Member Club of the Year. The honor is based on the facility’s support of the MGA Associate Members’ program, involvement with the MGA Junior program, and willingness to host MGA championships and qualifiers. 
 
“On behalf of my colleagues on the Board of Commissioners and Park District staff, I’m honored that Baker National Golf Course has been chosen as the Minnesota Golf Association Club of the Year,” said Three Rivers Park District Board Chair John Gunyou. “All staff at the course work hard to make sure the golf experience is fun and challenging for everyone who visits, and I’m so proud that their efforts are being recognized with this prestigious award.”
 
Baker National, a Three Rivers Park District 27-hole public facility located in western Hennepin County, has been an active supporter of amateur golf and MGA championships since the early 1990s. In that time, Baker National has hosted numerous MGA and USGA qualifiers, and amateur championships, including: the 1993 and 2000 Minnesota Public Golf Association Public Links Championships, the 1997 Minnesota Women’s Public Golf Association Four-Ball Championship, the 2004 MPGA Junior Public Links Championship, the 2006 Minnesota Women’s Golf Association Senior Four-Ball and MWPGA Team/Club Championships, the 2010 MWGA State Match Play Championship, and the 2013 Minnesota Junior Girls’ State Championship. In addition, the course has hosted five MGA Senior Tour events (1999, 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2012).
 
Baker National actively supports the MGA’s non-profit mission through a large and active MGA Associate Members program, which includes nearly 740 golfers, and has assumed an active role in adopting new handicap software and hardware testing.
 
The club received a plaque and will be featured in the 2014 Directory issue of Minnesota Golfer, the official publication of the MGA.
 
About Brackett’s Crossing Country Club
Brackett’s Crossing has been an active supporter of amateur golf and MGA championships since the early 1970s. In that time, Brackett’s Crossing has hosted numerous MGA qualifiers and championships including: the 1973 and 2009 MGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championships, the 1993 MGA Amateur Championship, the 2003 MGA Mid-Amateur, the 2006 MGA Mixed Amateur Team Championship, and the 2012 MGA Women’s Mid-Amateur. In addition, Brackett’s Crossing has hosted several MGA Senior Tour events, as well as MGA Junior Team qualifiers. In 2012, Brackett’s Crossing was named the MGA Member Club of the Year.
 
Brackett’s Crossing actively supports the MGA’s non-profit mission through a large and active MGA Associate Members program, which includes more than 520 golfers, and has assumed an active role in adopting new handicap software and hardware testing.
 
About the MGA
Established in 1901, with the formation by seven golf clubs to organize the state’s most prestigious and storied golf championship, the MGA Amateur Championship, the Minnesota Golf Association is today the governing body over amateur golf in the state, responsible for administering the Rules of Golf, and committed to upholding and promoting the game of golf and its values for all golfers in Minnesota.
 
The MGA conducts 16 major amateur championships and nine USGA qualifying events each year. Thanks to the support of its member clubs and associate members, and the efforts of its volunteers and staff, the MGA provides a variety of services such as handicapping, course rating and measuring, an online golf news and information resource, www.mngolf.org, and an official publication, Minnesota Golfer magazine, which benefit all golfers throughout Minnesota.
 
 
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