Hosking Medals; Four Others Advance at U.S. Open Local Qualifier

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By Nick Hunter
nhunter23@hotmail.com

HOPKINS, Minn. – Maxwell Hosking’s goal for Monday’s U.S. Open Local Qualifier at Oak Ridge Country Club in Hopkins was to keep his score below 70. Not only did he accomplish his goal, he earned medalist honors by shooting a 1-under par 69 and advances to Sectional Qualifying.

“I didn’t make many mistakes today, I short-sided myself on one green and ended up with a bogey. Today I mainly kept the ball in the fairway and kept it beneath the hole. I hit a lot of 2-irons and aimed for the fat part of the green,” Hosking said.

Hosking, Madison, Wisc., would make par on each of his first four holes before a birdie on the par-5 5th hole. He bogeyed the 7th and finished the front nine at even-par. Hosking opened the back nine with three straight pars before a birdie on the 13th hole and then went on to par the final five holes to finish at 1-under par 69.

“I putted well today; I made a lot of putts inside of 8-feet. I saved par probably three times with good putts so I rolled it well,” Hosking said. As time went by, as did the wind and rain, Hosking sat and waited to see if his score would hold up and if he would be moving on. “I told myself a round under 70 would have a good chance, I’m hoping it will be good enough but worst case scenario is that I’ll be playing in a playoff.”

In the end it was good enough as Hosking will head to Newport Beach, Calif., for his Sectional Qualifier.

Don Berry also advanced by shooting an even-par 70 in his 33rd attempt to reach the U.S. Open. Berry, Rogers, Minn., didn’t exactly start well with two bogeys on the front nine but recovered well with three birdies on the final nine holes.

“I missed some putts early and hit some bad shots but finally things turned around at the end. I haven’t played a lot of golf lately with the bad spring we’ve had so it was more like a practice round,” Berry said. He will travel to St. Louis aiming for his second U.S. Open appearance as he qualified for the 1992 tournament at Pebble Beach.

Former University of Minnesota golfer Cameron White also earned a trip to a Sectional Qualifier despite a dismal three-over par start to the morning.

White, Plymouth, Minn., double-bogeyed his first hole and bogeyed the 12th hole as he quickly found himself in trouble. “I hadn’t seen the course since high school so on the tee at 10, I had no idea what to hit,” White said.

All doubt would soon be erased as White birdied four straight holes on the front nine and saved his round by going 1-under par through nine. White moved to 2-under with a birdie on No. 2 but a bogey on the 4th and 9th holes put him in the clubhouse at an even-par 70 with a close eye on the scoreboard.

“It was a day that I putted really well but I didn’t hit enough fairways. Typically at qualifiers the scores aren’t very low so my mindset was to play conservatively and put the ball in the fairway. I knew if I could get to even or one or two under, there would be a good chance to move on,” White said. He will head to Columbus, Ohio for the Sectional Qualifier.

Stephen Bidne was the fourth player to advance and needed a playoff hole to do so. On the first playoff hole with Chris Peterson and Josh Manske, Bidne sank a 15-foot, right to left birdie putt to punch his ticket to the Sectional Qualifier in St. Louis.

Bidne, Roseville, Minn., did not start well as he began his round 2-over par through five holes but battled back with a birdie on the 15th hole to make the turn at just 1-over par.

“I didn’t putt well; I missed some easy 4-footers so I didn’t have a lot of confidence with the putter today,” Bidne said. He would birdie No. 1 and quickly found himself back at even par. But a bogey at the par-3 third hole dropped him back to 1-over again. From there Bidne found his only groove of the day as he went on the par his final six holes to finish just 1-over par and tied for fourth.

“I played okay, we had some tough holes down the stretch at the end and I was trying to play aggressive. I thought the number would be about 1-under so I didn’t think I had a chance at 71. I’m definitely happy to be moving on though,” Bidne said.

The fifth and final spot in the Sectional Qualifier belongs to Christopher Peterson who defeated Manske on the second playoff hole at the par-3 11th.

Peterson, Rosemount, Minn., shot 2-over par on the front nine before making three birdies and two bogeys on the final nine holes to finish 1-over par. “I thought I played pretty average today; I struggled around the greens. Three three-putts really killed me today so I didn’t think 1-over would have a chance when I was done,” Peterson said. “I hit the ball well and kept it in play today. I thought I hit my driver pretty consistent, which helped,” he said.

After Bidne secured the fourth spot with a birdie on the first playoff hole, Peterson and Manske headed to the par-3 11th hole to decide the final spot.

Off the tee both players found the right bunker separated only by a foot. Peterson shot first and rolled his ball about 20-feet past the pin. Manske’s bunker shot caught the edge of the fringe and stopped about 8-feet shy. Peterson had perfect speed on his par putt as the ball moved left to right and found the bottom of the cup and put immense pressure on Mankse who missed his putt by only inches and Peterson locked up the final spot. Peterson will head to St. Louis for his Sectional Qualifier.

Manske, Algona, Iowa, finished as first alternate with Julian Ramirez, Otsego, Minn., finishing as second alternate.

The shot of the day belonged to Kyle Scanlon who had an ace on the 189-yard, par-3 third hole using a 4-iron.