Late Birdies Secure Bull's Victory at MGA Mid-Amateur

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  WACONIA, Minn. – In only two appearances during the 2023 season, Jesse Bull qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship by firing a 6-under 66 at Woodhill Country Club earlier month, and then advanced to the semifinal round of the Northland Invitational at Northland Country Club for the second time in three seasons—making it hard to fathom that he’s been held winless for nearly seven years.

Bull fired a 6-under 66 during the second round of the 36th Minnesota Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship Tuesday at Chaska Town Course, and followed it with a final-round 70 at Island View Golf Club Wednesday to earn a runaway victory for his first state title since 2016.

“This year, compared to the last few years, it’s hard to pinpoint a difference. You just build on confidence—that’s really what golf is,” Bull said following his win Wednesday. “At 48, I can still play a little bit.

“It means a lot to get the first mid-am win. I’ve got the [MGA Amateur] but I’ve never won a mid-am, and that was on my mind a little bit.”

Bull entered Wednesday’s final round with a two-stroke advantage over Jason Pendleton, pulling away late by carding three birdies during his back nine, including a 35-foot putt on the 54th hole to earn a four-stroke victory over Pendleton and Tony Krogen.

“The guys were playing really well out there,” said Bull. “Playing my game for three days straight and playing under par each round—they forced me to stay sharp. I played consistent golf all the way through. No doubles and not a lot of bogeys.

“I went into the round today thinking I didn’t have a lead—just go out and play golf. My goal was to be 1-under on each side,” Bull said. “You try to focus the best you can. It’s me against the course, and I tried to not pay attention to what the other guys do or who’s going low.”

Bull birdied the first hole of the day to keep pace with Pendleton, but his lead would be trimmed to one following his bogey at the par-4 ninth.

Sticking his tee shot to six feet at the 11th, Bull got back on track by converting his birdie chance to move to even par for the round.

Bull chipped to a foot at the par-5 17th for a tap-in birdie to maintain a two-stroke advantage over Pendleton and Krogen before his birdie putt from 35 feet at the last found the bottom of the cup to close out the championship at 9-under 207, four shots clear of the field.

“That was the best putt of the week, maybe the year,” Bull said of his final putt Wednesday.

“I was battling a little bit on the front nine, but felt better as the round went on. I felt comfortable, hung in there and played well.”

A quick turnaround for Bull as he will now set his sights on his fourth appearance at the national championship beginning Sept. 9 at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, N.Y.

“Going into the [U.S. Mid-Amateur] next week, there’s a few things I need to tighten up because there’s not a lot of room for error,” he said. “I’ve got to play my best to try to do something out there.”

Bull’s first state victory came in 2014 at Golden Valley Country Club when he sank his birdie putt on the final hole to become the first player in 66 years to win the MGA Amateur Championship on his home course.

He then teamed up with Andrew McCain to win the MGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Edina Country Club in 2016.

Since his most recent victory, Bull placed third at the MGA Mid-Amateur at Southview Country Club in 2017 before finishing tied for second at the MGA Amateur the following season at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Playing in the final group for the third time in five seasons Wednesday, Pendleton notched his best finish at the event since he placed fourth in 2017 at Southview Country Club.

Firing the tournament-low 7-under 65 Tuesday at Island View, Pendleton began the final day of competition with a two-stroke deficit behind Bull, but failed to capitalize on scoring chances following an early birdie during his round.

Even par through his first 16 holes Wednesday, Pendleton two-putted for birdie at the par-5 17th to pull within two shots of the lead.

But an errant tee shot on the final hole led to a late bogey to put Pendleton in the clubhouse with a share of second at 5-under 211.

“I felt like I made a lot of good swings, but putts didn’t go in and I got some bad breaks today,” Pendleton said after his round Wednesday. “I’ve been playing really well the last month, and I wanted to continue to make good aggressive swings.

“This is why I like to play in these events because I don’t normally get to play some of these courses. You can appreciate playing two different courses and see if your game travels.”

Entering the final 18 holes of play six shots off the lead, Tony Krogen quickly made up ground by carding an eagle on his opening hole Wednesday to move to 3-under for the championship.

Rolling his birdie opportunity at the par-4 12th Krogen moved to within two shots of the lead at 4-under for the championship.

Krogen carded his second birdie of the round at the 15th to reach 5-under, but it was all the closer he would get as Bull pulled away late.

Thanks to a final-round 68 Wednesday, Krogen collected his best finish since he finished runner-up with partner Alex Klehr at the 2021 MGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Brackett’s Crossing Country Club.

Max Tylke, the 2021 MGA Players’ champion, fired a 3-under 69 during Wednesday’s final round to finish in a share of fourth with first-round co-leader Joel B. Johnson at 3-under 213.

The 37th MGA Mid-Amateur Championship will be played at both Braemar Golf Course and Edina Country Club Sept. 9-11, 2024.