Right at Home, Conzemius Medals to Earn Top Seed at MGA Players' Championship

View full size image

  HASTINGS, Minn. – As a 2003 graduate of Hastings High School, Joe Conzemius said he knows the ebbs and flows at Hastings Golf Club as well as anyone. His first state victory at the Minnesota Public Golf Association State Public Links Championship came on his home course in 2017.

Returning to familiar surroundings again Monday, Conzemius capitalized on his home-field advantage by carding a pair of eagles and five birdies to claim medalist honors in the qualifying round at the 46th Minnesota Golf Association Players’ Championship, firing 9-under 63.

Conzemius earns the championship’s top seed of match play heading into the Round of 16 beginning early Tuesday.

“It’s always good to come home,” Conzemius said Monday. “I’ve probably played a thousand rounds of golf here, so I’m very comfortable here. Fun to come out and play a nice round.”

With inclement weather early Monday forcing a shotgun start for the field’s 64 players, Conzemius began at the fourth and played his first 12 holes in 3-under before sinking his eagle opportunity from 10 feet at the par-5 16th to reach 5-under for the round.

Back-to-back birdies at the first and second put Conzemius on top of the leaderboard at 7-under and he would finish amid challenging conditions with a second eagle at the par-5 third, rolling in a short 3-footer to post a bogey-free 9-under 63.

“I had some stretches of good golf last week at [MGA Mid-Players], so it’s nice to come in with good form and the goal is to make it to match play,” Conzemius said. “Nice to have a good round today, but it all resets tomorrow and hopefully the game can stay sharp for the next two days.”

Posting yet another strong showing Monday was two-time MGA Mid-Players’ champion Bryce Hanstad, who fired a 5-under 67 to finish tied for second a week after advancing to the semifinals of the Mid-Players’ Championship at Deacon’s Lodge.

“I worked on a few things ball-striking-wise after last week that were a little problematic,” Hanstad said. “Found some progress there—it wasn’t fantastic, but definitely moving in the right direction.

“Short game was solid today—chipped and putted well. Got up-and-down when I needed to."

Beginning on the third hole Monday, Hanstad tallied his first birdie of the round before moving to 2-under with a birdie at the seventh.

Sinking back-to-back birdies at the 10th and 11th, Hanstad then carded his only blemish of the qualifying round with a bogey at the 14th.

He countered with birdie from eight feet at the 16th and finished with another 8-footer in the rain at the first to finish tied for second with University of New Mexico golfer Carson Herron.

Herron carded three birdies over his first eight holes Monday, but closed out his final two holes with a birdie from four feet at the third, and dropped his birdie chance from 45 feet at the fourth to move into a share of second with Hanstad thanks to a bogey-free 5-under 67.

“Overall, the day went really smoothly,” Herron said. “My putting felt really solid—even though I burned some lips, I’m hitting good putts. If I can bring those into match play, it’ll be huge.

“I haven’t played the best the last couple of tournaments, but this round really puts me in a better spot by not making any bogeys and playing more consistent.”

Joel B. Johnson, a two-time MPGA Mid Public Links winner, overcame a string of three bogeys with a pair of birdies late in the round to finish in a tie for fourth place with 2021 MGA Players’ champion Max Tylke and former Augsburg College golfer Stellan Orvick, who qualified for his fifth consecutive MGA Players’ Championship this week.

A round of 2-under 70 helped former University of Minnesota golfer Jacob Pedersen earn a spot in the Round of 16 Tuesday, finishing tied for along with 2023 MPGA Combination winner Brandon Sperling, recent MPGA Four-Ball winner Jesse Larson and Brent Dickerman.

University of Notre Dame golfer and 2022 Mr. Minnesota Golf winner Nate Stevens posted a 1-under 71 during his qualifying round Monday to advance to the Round of 16 with Trent Peterson, who won the MGA Mid-Players’ Championship at Deacon’s Lodge Wednesday and the MPGA Mid Public Links Championship at Highland National Golf Course Sunday.

University of St. Thomas’ Matt Armstrong also posted a 1-under 71 to qualify, as did University of North Dakota golfer Lucas Feterl. Tommie golfer Owen Rexing and University of South Dakota’s Joey Rohlwing survived a 5-for-2 playoff to claim the final two spots in the top-16 after carding an even par 72 during their qualifying round.

The 46th MGA Players’ Championship continues Tuesday with the quarterfinal round beginning at 8:42 a.m. at Hastings Golf Club.