BECKER, Minn. – Setting an early tone by carding six birdies and an eagle during their opening nine holes of the 2025 Minnesota Public Golf Association Combination Championship, Nick Jarrett and Trent Peterson went bogey-free over their final 18 holes to claim a five-stroke victory at Pebble Creek Golf Club.
Jarrett and Peterson fired a 17-under 91 at the 27-hole championship to better the twosome of Max Tylke and Corey Schommer to win for the second time at the event.
“It’s always fun, whether if it’s team golf or not,” said Jarrett, who claims his fifth state victory Sunday, and first since winning the 2021 championship with partner Matt Norgaard at Emerald Greens Golf Course. “It’s good to play good golf again and, hopefully, to get some momentum going. I’ll ride the [Peterson] championship train and contribute when I need to, but it’s fun to win no matter what event it is.
Peterson collects his first win at the event since pairing with J.T. Johnson to win the 2013 championship at Bunker Hills Golf Club.
“It’s nice to win this one again—everyone has different partners most of the time, and it comes down to who gets hot. Haven’t gotten hot in this event for a long time.”
Jarrett and Peterson blistered their opening nine holes in the scramble format, shooting an 8-under 28 before switching to an alternate shot format where they would card five birdies to reach 13-under for the championship.
Playing the final nine holes in a four-ball format, Jarrett and Peterson continued to cruise as Jarrett drilled his birdie putt from 20 feet at their 20th hole before Peterson sank a 10-foot downhill bender to help put his team at 15-under.
Jarrett rolled in another 20-footer for birdie on the 24th hole, and Peterson would add one final birdie for good measure at the 26th hole, sinking his birdie chance from 25 feet to help steer his team to a five-stroke victory at 17-under 91.
“We made every putt,” Peterson said Sunday. “[Jarrett] hit the driver really well and kept us in play, but we just got on the green in relatively short order and made every putt. We missed two putts under 15 feet all day. We played great.
“Even having birdie putts from 20 feet, we never thought, ‘This is going to be a tough two-putt.’ We never really had an up-and-down,” Jarrett said. “I was hitting good drives, and he was hitting good approaches into the greens.”
Jarrett won a pair of junior championships at the MGA Junior Team and the MPGA Junior Public Links championship before an MGA Four-Ball and an MPGA Combination Championship win with Norgaard in 2021.
On three previous occasions, Peterson has tallied four wins during a single season since 2013, but Peterson enters uncharted territory with his win Sunday, his fifth of the season. The 38-year-old also pushes his career total to 45 state wins.
Following Sunday’s final round, Tylke holds a 52.50-point advantage over Peterson as the 32-year-old Tylke looks for his second consecutive MGA Men’s Player of the Year honors, while Peterson’s chances for a fourth award (2008, 2014, 2019) remain alive.
The MGA Men’s Player of the Year points race will be decided following the final state championship of the season at the Minnesota Golf Champions beginning Friday at Minneapolis Golf Club.
Defending champions Joel B. Johnson and Brad Johnson tallied a 10-under 98 Sunday to place third, seven shots behind Jarrett and Peterson, while 2023 champions Ralph Baxley and Ryan Conn finished in fourth at 9-under 99.