Peterson Once Again Flexes Match-Play Muscle, Beats Quesnel to Earn Second Mid-Players' Win

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
 
 
  HUTCHINSON, Minn. – This week at the 13^th Minnesota Golf Association Mid-Players’ Championship at Crow River Golf Club, Trent Peterson defeated five opponents by playing just 71 holes to earn his second title in three seasons along the way.
 
Eligible to play in the 30-and-over championship in 2017, Peterson defeated Justin Burleson to win the championship at St. Cloud Country Club before Burleson returned the favor last season at Brackett’s Crossing Country Club.
 
The two-time MGA Men’s Player of the Year engaged in a see-saw battle early Wednesday during his final match against Jamie Quesnel before pulling away to earn the victory, 5 and 4, without reaching the 17^th tee box once in five rounds.
 
“I played great this week. Five rounds in three days is a lot of golf and I hit it well and putted well every day,” Peterson said following his victory Wednesday. “It’s always fun to win a MGA event. They’re tough and the competition is really good. I get a little redemption from last year because I was a little bummed I lost in the finals, so to come back this year and win is a great accomplishment.”
 
Peterson has now reached 20 career amateur victories, claiming at least one tournament win each season since 2013. Waiting until one of the final tournaments of the season a year ago, Peterson claimed his second straight victory at the MGA Mid-Amateur Championship at The Legends Club last fall.
 
When the MGA Players’ Championship begins on Monday at Pebble Creek Golf Club, Peterson will have an opportunity to become the first player to win both the MGA Mid-Players’ and Players’ Championship in the same season. Peterson has a pair of victories (2008, 2016) and two runner-up finishes (2013-14) at the event.
 
“It’s a great start—I’m playing well early in the season,” Peterson said. “Usually it takes me all the way until the [MGA State Amateur] to get going, so I’m really happy with where my game’s at right now.”
 
Facing off against Quesnel, a former teammate at Eagan High School, Peterson took the first lead after a bogey by Quesnel at the second before the two would trade jabs each of the next five holes. Peterson squared the match at the par-3 seventh by rolling in a 12-footer for birdie and increased his lead to two when Quesnel made bogey at the eighth and ninth.
 
Struggling off the tee mid-round, Quesnel carded his third straight bogey at the 10^th, giving Peterson a 3-up lead before Peterson hit a splendid shot to get himself out of trouble, saving par at the 12^th.
 
Driving the ball through the fairway at the dogleg left par-4, Peterson hit a low-cut underneath and around a tree that rolled up and on to the green, leaving a two-putt par to preserve his 3-up lead.
 
“I’ve been under that tree four out of five days, so I’ve hit that shot four times—it wasn’t new to me exactly. I hit a big, slinging slice on to the green and made a par,” Peterson said.
 
Increasing his lead to four when Quesnel carded bogey at the 13^th, Peterson closed out the match at the 14^th when he reached the par-5 in two and two-putted for birdie, while Quesnel’s birdie chance to remain alive rolled past the cup.
 
Peterson opened the championship Monday by cruising to victory, 7 and 6, over Blake Onkka before ousting Brad Johnson, 6 and 4. During Tuesday’s quarterfinal round, Peterson eliminated Tony Vincelli, 4 and 3, and then had the tall order of facing 2013 champion and defending MGA Players’ Champion, Sammy Schmitz. Peterson carded a pair of late birdies to edge Schmitz, 3 and 2, to reach the finals for the third time in three seasons.
 
Finishing runner-up Wednesday, Quesnel earns his best finish at the event after previously advancing to the Round of 16 in both 2017 and 2018, and he’s quietly become a strong competitor at state events the past two seasons, notching six top-10 finishes since 2017.
 
“It was a good back-and-forth start, but I just got into trouble in the trees on eight, nine and 10. My third shots were all more than 60 yards to the green, trying to get up-and-down. That’s not going to help,” Quesnel said Wednesday. “You can miss fairways out here and still have a little luck, but I didn’t have that today.”
 
“I thought I did a good job of staying in the moment this week, whether the last shot was awesome or awful, I tried to treat each shot the same and realize that you’re going to play a lot of golf. The putter was good this week and I got up-and-down a lot. This is a confidence booster and a reminder that if I put some stretches together, I can play with the guys. I know the quality of golfers in the state, so it’s fun to be right there.”
 
The 14^th MGA Mid-Players’ Championship will be contested at Giants Ridge Golf and Ski Resort in Biwabik, Minn.