Christopherson Shoots 67 to Medal at U.S. Open Local Qualifier; 3 Others Advance

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PRIOR LAKE, Minn. – For someone that hasn’t played much golf in the past two seasons, Erik Christopherson’s game showed very little rust as he carded a 5-under par 67 Monday at the 2014 U.S. Open Local Qualifying held at the Wilds Golf Club.

Christopherson, Minneapolis, has had a successful amateur career as he won the Minnesota Golf Association Players’ Championship in 2010 and Mid-Players’ title in 2011 before stepping away from the game shortly after.

“I’m back in it now after a couple of years away and it feels pretty good,” Christopherson said Monday. “I drove the ball well and I was able to make some putts outside of 12 feet.”

Christopherson made birdies on the second and fourth holes to quickly get to 2-under but dropped a shot on the seventh with a bogey and made the turn at 1-under. He would get back to 2-under after rolling in a birdie putt on the 224-yard par-3 and began to feel momentum on his side.

“After making birdie on 11, I felt like it was my day to go low and I kept putting the pedal to the metal. I was able to make three more birdies coming in and it was pretty stress-free,” he said.

Christopherson made birdie on the 12th hole to drop to 3-under par before making birdies on the 14th and 16th to finish his round at 5-under par 67, earning medalist honors.

Monday was the first attempt for Christopherson to qualify for the U.S. Open, but he made it to the second stage of qualifying for the U.S. Amateur in both 2009 and 2010.

After a second-place showing Sunday at the Minnesota Golf Champions at Golden Valley Golf and Country Club, Clayton Rask fired a 4-under par 78 to qualify for the U.S. Open Sectional as well.

Rask began his round on the tenth hole and played a very consistent round starting with six consecutive pars before making back-to-back birdies to move to 2-under par. He would add two more birdies on the back nine to finish his day in second place at 68.

“I had to get up and down right away. I short-sided myself on 10 but after that I don’t think I missed a green until 18,” Rask said. “I had a birdie putt on every hole on the front side. I was striking the ball really well and I putted really well.”

Alex Kline earned a qualifying spot Monday as well with his 4-under round of 68 to sit in a second-place tie with Rask. Kline, Ramsey, Minn., started with a bogey on the opening hole but quickly regained control with four straight pars before making birdie on the sixth to draw back to even.

Kline would head to the back nine at 1-under for the day after rolling in a birdie putt on the eighth hole. With a birdie on the par-5 12th hole Kline got to 2-under for the day and really got things going as he made three consecutive birdies starting at the 14th to quickly get to 5-under for the round. Kline would finish his day at 4-under 68 after making a bogey on the 17th.

“I started off a little rough but I made a six-footer for par on No. 2 and I think that gave me some momentum,” Kline said. “I stroked the ball really well and hit it pretty straight—I hit every fairway. It’s tough to make big numbers when you hit the fairway. I only had two bogeys and both of them were three-putts.”

Ross Miller earned the fourth and final qualifying position Monday as he carded a 3-under par 69 to advance.

Miller, Maple Grove, Minn., started with a birdie on the opening hole, but followed it with back-to-back bogeys to fall to 1-over. He got back to even on the fourth hole and managed to make the turn at 2-under par after an eagle on the par-5 eighth.

A bogey at the 12th would drop Miller back to 1-under for the day but he would finish strong with birdies on the 15th and again on the final hole to finish at 3-under 69.


For complete tournament results go to: http://www.mngolf.org/Tournaments/US_Open_Local_Qualifying_-_The_Wilds