Bull and Johnson Set to Meet in Finals at MGA Mid-Players Championship

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By Nick Hunter
nhunter23@hotmail.com


  WACONIA, Minn. – The stage has been set for the final match at the 2013 Minnesota Golf Association’s Mid-Players and Seniors Championship and in both divisions, the defending champion was ousted in the semifinal round.

In the Mid-Players division, Jesse Bull, Golden Valley Golf and Country Club, defeated defending champion Sammy Schmitz, Valleywood Golf Club, 3 and 1 Wednesday to advance to final match Thursday at Island View Golf Club.

Bull defeated Daryl Schomer, Wapicada Golf Club, in the quarterfinal round Thursday, 3 and 2, to advance to the semifinals.

“Wednesday was my first time here so I kept it conservative and tried to hit what I saw. It gets to be a long day playing 36 holes so I tried to keep it simple,” Bull said. “This course doesn’t necessarily reward power, so hitting fairways and greens is the most important part.”

“I got into a good groove early today and was pretty consistent. I had a couple birdies on the first few holes and my only hiccups were things that happen, but definitely not big mistakes. I had a couple of bogeys here and there, but overall I stayed consistent and took birdies where they were,” Bull said.

Bull made birdie on the 1st and 3rd holes to grab a quick 2-up lead over Schomer in his early round Thursday, and a bogey by Schomer on the par-3 fourth hole gave Bull an even bigger 3-up lead after four holes. Bull won the final three holes on the front nine to take a commanding 5-up lead at the turn.

Schomer would cut into the lead on the 10th hole with a birdie and later take advantage of a bogey by Bull on the par-4 12th to make things interesting as Bull maintained a 3-up advantage through 13. The two would trade holes on 14 and 15 as Bull held onto a 3-up lead before finally clinching the match on the 16th with a par to win, 3 and 2.

Bull would face defending champion Schmitz in the semifinals (Schmitz defeated Terry O’Loughlin earlier Thursday to reach semis) and again got out to a quick start by winning the second hole to take an early 1-up lead.

Schmitz responded with a birdie on the fourth hole to square the match but it would be as close as he would get to making a repeat appearance in the finals. Bull won the fifth and sixth holes and went into the turn with a 2-up lead.

Bull extended the lead to 3-up when Schmitz made bogey on 10, but Schmitz would again respond by winning the 12th hole. Bull held a 2-up lead until the 15th hole when Schmitz made bogey and the lead increased to 3-up for Bull. Schmitz fought back yet again winning the 16th hole to close the gap with only two holes to play but a birdie by Bull on the par-5 17th sealed the match for Bull.

“I played well yesterday, but today I got a little fatigued on the last 18 holes—it’s a lot of golf,” Schmitz said after the match. “You can’t hit driver all over this course, you have to be careful. My plan for the tournament was to hit hybrids and irons off the tee and try to place the ball. I tried to stick to that for the whole tournament.”

“I think you’re always disappointed losing before the final match, but I made a few more mental mistakes today and wasn’t focusing quite as well. I can’t be too disappointed though, Jesse (Bull) played great today, I’m happy for him,” Schmitz said.

Bull will face Troy Johnson in the final match as Johnson, Rush Creek Golf Club, defeated Jordan Ryan, Hazeltine National Golf Club, in Thursday’s quarterfinals and then Scott Thomas in the semifinals.

In quarterfinal action Johnson got off to a very quick start and never looked back as he held a 5-up lead through 10 holes.

“I was a little squirrely today—I hit some good shots and bad shots but that’s golf,” Johnson said. “Things are a little different in match play; sometimes you can get away with some bad shots.”

Johnson would bogey the par-3 11th and give away a hole as his lead slipped to 4-up, and another bogey on the 13th hole and his lead dropped to 3-up with five holes to play. A birdie on the 14th and another birdie on the 16th was all he would need to clinch the match. 4 and 2.

Johnson would face Thomas, Brackett’s Crossing Country Club, in the semifinals and grabbed an early lead but would falter with back-to-back bogeys on the sixth and seventh holes to go 1-down. A birdie by Johnson on the eighth would square the match, but Thomas would take control of the match for the next five holes as he took a 2-up lead to the 13th hole.

“I didn’t really have my swing today; I was getting a little frustrated but I tried to push through it. If I had a bad hole I tried to move on and start over and it worked pretty well for me,” Johnson said. “On 13th (Thomas) went over the green and I ended up on the back edge and made a really nice two putt.”

Johnson won the 13th and narrowed the margin and would square the match with a birdie on the 15th hole. Johnson would finally regain the lead with a birdie on 17 but both players found trouble off the final tee.

Thomas found the right rough and with a terrible lie, blasted his second shot over the green. Johnson found the left rough off the tee and didn’t have a great look at the green with his second shot and it landed short about 20 yards from the green. Johnson’s third shot bounced on the front edge and died about 20 feet from the pin, but he would sink his par putt to win 2-up and advance to the championship.

Bull and Johnson will tee off for the championship at 7:40 a.m. Thursday.

For complete tournament results go to: http://ghintpp.com/mngolf/TPPOnlineScoring/ResultsMatch.aspx?archive=match&id=503