Hanstad Edges Conn in Playoff to Win Second Straight MGA Mid-Players' Title

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Bryce Hanstad, of Olympic Hills GC, and Ryan Conn, of Alexandria GC, the champ and runner-up, respectively, at the MGA Mid and Senior Players' Championships', June 14, 2023, at the Alexandria Golf Club, Alexandria, Minn. Hanstad and Conn went 20 holes to decide the match. The duo met in the Mid Players’ finals in 2022, which went in Hanstad’s favor. Photos by W.P. Ryan/courtesy MGA.

  ALEXANDRIA, Minn. – Despite a late surge by Ryan Conn at Alexandria Golf Club Wednesday, Bryce Hanstad survived a two-hole playoff to win his second consecutive Minnesota Golf Association Mid-Players’ Championship.

Conn’s birdie on the final hole of regulation sent the two to extra holes, but Hanstad clinched the tournament with his short par putt during the playoff to become the first player since Troy Johnson in 2014 to successfully defend his title at the championship.

“This means a lot because winning golf tournaments is really hard,” Hanstad said after his win Wednesday. “I haven’t done it many times in my life, so I feel very fortunate to defend.

“It’s pretty sweet to do it in my hometown and special with mom and dad here. I appreciate my family supporting this crazy thing that I love to do.”

Hanstad’s home-field advantage paid dividends during his first four matches this week, never playing past the 15th hole prior to his semifinal match against Joe Conzemius, when he closed out the match on the 17th hole.

But Hanstad’s key asset was lost during the championship match against Conn, who was also playing at his childhood course this week.

“I knew playing against Ryan that it was going to take birdies to win holes,” he said. “Both of us are pretty good at avoiding bogeys and I knew I’d have to stay aggressive and keep the foot on the pedal.

“I didn’t really need to go very deep in any of my matches until today, but I fully expected the semis and finals to be that way.”

In a tightly contested final match Wednesday, Hanstad and Conn sat tied after 13 holes before birdies at the 14th and 16th gave Hanstad the lead late.

A three-putt bogey at the 17th dropped his lead over Conn to one before Conn sank a three-foot birdie putt at the 18th to force extra holes.

Eyeing a short birdie putt to win the tournament on the first playoff hole, Hanstad’s putt from inside of six feet rolled past the cup.

“I had the same put on [No. 1] three times today and missed it on the right side each time,” Hanstad said. “I could not convince myself to play it straight—I know it doesn’t break, but there’s something in your body that tells you that it should.”

When Conn couldn’t get his par putt on the second playoff hole to drop, Hanstad rolled in his par putt from three feet for the victory.

Hanstad’s win at Royal Golf Club a year ago was just the start of an impressive year for the 36-year-old.

He notched a top-10 finish at the MGA Amateur at Olympic Hills Golf Club in July before advancing to the semifinal round of the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Erin Hills in Wisconsin in September.

Falling to Ireland’s Hugh Foley, 3 and 2, Hanstad narrowly missed becoming the second Minnesotan to win the national championship in the last nine years.

“The [U.S. Mid-Amateur] was a big stepping-stone in building confidence for me,” he said. “Getting comfortable in competition is one of those things where you don’t get comfortable without doing it.

“The more reps and opportunities to do that and putting myself in position like this week is a continued confidence builder.”

Hanstad’s first state win came at the MGA Amateur in 2007 at Hazeltine National Golf Club and followed it with a win on his home course at the Resorters Tournament later that year. He added a third state win the following year at the KX Amateur at Moorhead Country Club.

Wednesday’s runner-up finish marks yet another close call for Conn, whose only state win came at the 2019 MGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship at The Classic at Madden’s with partner Hunter Rebrovich.

But the former University of Wisconsin golfer has now collected 11 top-5 finishes since.

“It was a good final match. I probably got a little lucky to get it to extra holes,” Conn said. “I was really happy with how I finished the round. I maybe could’ve gotten a couple of putts to fall mid-round.

“I’ve had good things happen on the course and tournaments where we’ve ended up on the right side, but it’s just hard to win tournaments,” he said. “I’m happy that I keep putting myself in position—it’s been a good four years of golf for me, and my match play record has been really good.”

In a cruel twist of fate, Conn lost both appearances in the finals of the MGA Players’ Championship in 2020 and 2022 to Cecil Belisle.

Reaching the finals of the MGA Mid-Players’ each of the last two seasons, Conn has now fallen to Hanstad on both occasions.

“Does it bother me that a couple of these I couldn’t come out on top? Yeah, it will. Would I have loved to have been in four of these and two of them were mine? Of course, that would be amazing.”