Wynia, Whaley and Ebner Share Early Lead at MGA Mid-Am

By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


  CHASKA, Minn. – The 27th Minnesota Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship got underway Tuesday at Wild Marsh Golf Club as well as Chaska Town Course, and after the opening round Tom Whaley, Adam Wynia and Phillip Ebner sit tied for the lead at 2-under par.

Wynia, playing Chaska Town Course Tuesday, carded an even par 36 over the opening nine holes with three birdies and three bogeys before falling to 2-over with a pair of bogeys on the 12th and 14th holes.

Wynia, University Golf Course, answered with back-to-back birdies at the 15th and 16th to get back to even once again, and would hole-out from 70 yards on the par-5 18th for eagle, finishing his day at 2-under par 70.

“Today went well and I played really steady,” Wynia said after his round Tuesday. “The only mistakes I made were four three-putts. I missed some short putts that could’ve gone in, but then again, when you do something like that on the last hole it kind of makes up for it.”

“My iron play was really steady as well, I think I only missed three or four greens all day and kept the ball in play with no penalty shots, which is good out here,” he said. “I like [Wild Marsh]; it kind of fits my eye. It’s a similar course in that you need to keep the ball in play and as long as you give yourself an opportunity to hit greens, you’re going to be okay.”

Wynia finished as runner-up to Dylan Gergen at the Twin Cities Championship in June and said he’s looking to finish the year playing some his best golf over the past two months.

“I want to play well, but I’m just thinking about trusting my target and letting go when I’m out there. Hopefully the work I’ve done will be enough for me to have a good showing,” he said.

Last season’s 36-hole leader, Tom Whaley, put himself right back into contention with a 2-under par 70 playing at Chaska Town Course Tuesday.

Whaley, Minneapolis Golf Club, couldn’t get his par putt to fall on the opening hole at Wild Marsh Tuesday, quickly dropping to 1-over but bounced back with a pair of birdies at the fifth and sixth holes and would make the turn at 1-under.

Whaley rolled in a birdie putt on the 10th, but it was erased at the 11th as he remained at 1-over until the 16th.

Another birdie at the 16th put Whaley back at 2-over, but again he would make bogey on the following hole to stay at 1-under. He finished his round Monday on a high note with his fifth birdie of the day to sit tied for the lead at 2-under par 70.

“I haven’t been playing much this year so today went good—I made some putts and got up and down a couple of times,” Whaley said. “I got lucky a little bit and put myself in some spots where I could make some putts."

“I drove the ball in the fairway, which you’ve really got to do around here. I haven’t played [Chaska Town Course] in about 10 years so I was kind of playing blind, which was probably good because I didn’t know where all the bad stuff was,” he laughed.

Whaley said his expectations this time around are pretty low since he hasn’t played as much as in years past, but also because he’s flirted with the lead multiple times, winning once in 2009.

“I’ve led this thing a few times after the first couple rounds and it’s great to lead after the first and second round, but really you want to be leading after the final round. It’s more of a marathon than a sprint and I just try to be patient. You can make a big number pretty easy at [Wild Marsh], so tomorrow will be pretty conservative and try to keep it around even par,” Whaley said.

Ebner began his day on the tenth tee at Wild Marsh and quickly fell to 1-over with a bogey, but rebounded with a birdie on the ensuing hole to draw even.

Ebner, Windsong Farm, made the turn at 1-under after his second birdie of the round at the par-5 17th. He would cruise over the final nine holes with eight pars and another birdie at the par-4 second to finish his day at 2-under par 69, tied for the lead.

Will Hickey, Troy Johnson, Frank Mertz and Jesse Larson will begin the second round Wednesday one stroke behind the leaders at 1-under par.

The MGA Mid-Amateur Championship continues Wednesday at both Wild Marsh Golf Club and Chaska Town Course with split tee times beginning at 9 a.m. 



27TH MGA MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
WILD MARSH GOLF CLUB
BUFFALO, MINN.
6,505 YARDS, PAR 71


CHASKA TOWN COURSE
CHASKA, MINN.
6,531 YARDS, PAR 72


For complete tournament coverage go to: www.mngolf.org/Tournament/27th_MGA_Mid-Amateur_Championship