A Flurry of Birdies Boost Burnham and Nelson to MGA Women's Four-Ball Title

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org


  OWATONNA, Minn. – Fueled by a string of five consecutive birdies on the back nine Monday, the twosome of Sarah Burnham and Jessica Nelson earned a wire-to-wire victory at the 2017 Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Owatonna Country Club.

The former teammates at Wayzata High School got off to a slow start Monday with two bogeys on the opening nine, but Nelson carded back-to-back birdies starting at the 12th before Burnham rolled in the next three. Shooting 7-under par 137, Burnham and Nelson finished two shots clear of Maggie Heggerston and Christine Portillo as well as the team of Grace Kellar and Emily Kratz, who both finished at 139.

Entering Monday’s final round with a one-shot lead over Kellar and Kratz after shooting 68 Sunday, Burnham and Nelson carded bogeys at the third and sixth holes and would turn in a three-way tie for the lead at 2-under with Kellar and Kratz as well as Leigh Klasse and Betsy Aldrich.

“We needed momentum going into the back nine. We needed to change something up,” Nelson said after her and Burnham played the front nine at 2-over Monday. “I think we did a little more strategizing on the back.”

“I told [Nelson] on the back that we’ve got to go four-deep,” Burnham said. “I didn’t know how the other teams were playing. I thought someone in front of us could go low and thought that we would have to go really low.”

Just as she did the day prior, Nelson chipped in for birdie at the par-5 12th to spark her and Burnham as the two would birdie the next four holes to quickly move to 7-under for the tournament.

Nelson rolled in a 15-footer at the 13th and Burnham followed by sinking her birdie look from 20 feet at the 14th before hitting her approach inside of two feet at the short, par-4 15th. The final birdie of the day came at the par-5 16th where Burnham dropped a downhill slider from 12 feet.

On Burnham’s bag at her Women’s State Amateur victory at Mendakota Country Club in 2012, Nelson said this week was the first time the two have ever been partners at an event.

“I thought we played well together and it’s nice that we got to play together for her last MGA event,” Nelson said. “To win means a lot—it’s just fun that I could do it with Sarah because obviously she’s a great partner."

Burnham will play her final summer event at the Minnesota Women’s State Open beginning Tuesday at Deer Run Golf Club before travelling back to East Lansing, Mich., to begin her senior season at Michigan State University. She plans to turn professional after graduation next spring.

“Maybe after I try being a pro for a little while I’ll come back,” Burnham laughed. “It was good to have one of my closest friends here to play with in my last MGA event for a while.”

Arguably the state’s most dominant player in recent years, Burnham has collected 19 state amateur victories and qualified for seven USGA events, including the U.S. Women’s Open in 2015—which she considers her biggest accomplishment to date.

She was named MGA Women’s Player of the Year in 2012 and 2015 and claimed MGA Junior Girls’ Player of the Year honors three consecutive years (2012-14).

Monday’s victory is the first for Nelson since winning the Class AAA team title while at Wayzata with Burnham in 2014.

After an early bogey and a pair of bogeys by leaders Burnham and Nelson, Kellar and Kratz pulled even for the tournament at the eighth with a short birdie putt by Kellar to go to 3-under, but would turn with a share of the lead at 2-under following a bogey at the ninth.

“The front was kind of a struggle, but I thought we turned it around on the back,” Kratz said Monday. “Grace’s putting today was really good. My ball striking was a lot better than it was yesterday.”

Kellar stuck her tee shot at the par-3 11th to 12 inches for a tap-in birdie before Kratz converted birdie from 15 feet on the ensuing hole to take a slim lead before the run by Burnham and Nelson over the next five holes.

Reaching the 16th in two, Kellar two-putted for birdie to remain within two of the lead before Kratz sank a crucial six-footer for par on the final hole and to give the teammates at Edina High School a second-place finish along with Heggerston and Portillo at 139.

“We were just trying to keep it going and make some good shots,” Kellar said of her team’s mindset entering the final round one shot back Monday. “I wasn’t too worried about how we finished. It was more to have fun, but I wanted to at least place." 

“It’s fun to play together—you rarely play as a team,” Kratz added. “We wanted to come in strong like we did yesterday.”

Carding a 2-under par 70 to begin the championship Sunday, Heggerston and Portillo started slowly on the front nine Monday, taking bogey at the first and eighth holes to turn at even par for the tournament. 

The two rolled in back-to-back birdies at the 12th and 13th holes to get back to 2-under before carding three consecutive birdies beginning at the 15th and finish in a tie for second with Kellar and Kratz at 139.