BECKER, Minn. – Carding seven birdies during the scramble portion of the championship Sunday at Pebble Creek Golf Club helped the twosome of Justin Burleson and Ryan Strusz cruise to a four-stroke victory at the 41st Minnesota Public Golf Association Combination Championship, shooting 10-under 98.
Burleson wins for the first time since claiming the 2025 MPGA Four-Ball Championship with partner Jesse Larson, while the victory Sunday is the first of his career for Strusz.
“This means more than normal this year,” said Burleson, who collected the eighth state victory of his career Sunday. “I was in a dark place my putter—the last couple of months, probably the worst I've ever putted. I hate to use the word, but close to yippy on the short putts and made a couple of changes. The last week or so has been great. Game's fun when you putt.”
“Excited to get a big win and wanted to do it with a good friend,” said Strusz, “Feels great.”
Carrying a four-stroke lead to the 27th and final hole Sunday, Burleson’s birdie putt from 20 feet found the bottom of the cup to put him and Strusz at 10-under for the championship before the team of Ryan Conn and Ralph Baxley and the tandem of Nick Jarrett and Trent Peterson each finished with birdies on their final hole to earn a share of second at 6-under 102.
“We got it going early with a scramble,” Strusz said following the final round Sunday. “Played solid really throughout the day and Justin closed it out.
“It helps having Ryan [as a teammate], especially in the scramble,” Burleson said. “You don't shoot 7-under unless you got somebody hitting at 330 off the box in the fairway. Ryan hits it a mile off the tee and it worked out the way it was supposed to. He was bombing it, I wedged it close and he made the putts. That was pretty much the whole story.”
Starting with back-to-back birdies to begin the championship Sunday, Burleson and Strusz made par at the third and fourth holes, but finished their opening nine with five consecutive birdies to quickly reach 7-under par.
Slowed by a bogey at their 11th, Burleson and Strusz bounced back with consecutive birdies at their 14th and 15th holes before taking a double-bogey at the 16th to fall back to 6-under. A birdie at the 18th put the two at 7-under with nine holes to play.
Burleson sank his birdie chance from eight feet at the 23rd hole before dropping a 20-footer at their 25th to move him and Strusz to 9-under. Sinking one final birdie from 20 feet at the 27th gave the two a four-stroke victory by shooting 10-under 98.
Conn and Baxley, winners of the 2023 championship, began the round with a 3-under in the best ball format and followed it by posting a 3-under 33 during the scramble portion of the event.
The two would card two birdies against two bogeys during the final nine holes, an alternate shot format, to finish in a share of second at 6-under 102.
The defending champions Jarrett and Peterson combined to shoot 1-under 35 in alternate shot before trading one birdie for a bogey during the best ball format to remain at 1-under with nine holes to play.
Carding three consecutive birdies to begin the scramble format, Jarrett and Peterson quickly moved up the leaderboard at 4-under for the championship but could muster just two more birdies over the final six holes to come up four strokes short of the lead at 6-under 102.
Winners of the 2024 championship, Brad Johnson and Joel B. Johnson, combined to card a 9-under 99 to claim a four-stroke victory over Joe O’Brien and J.T. Johnson in the Senior Division.
The team of Stuart Finley and Bill Giesie tallied an even par 108 to capture medalist honors in the First Flight, while Andrew Kolbinger and Daniel Olson earned a five-stroke victory in the Second Flight, shooting 2-over 110.
Emerging victorious by way of a scorecard playoff, Tim and Rick Decklever claimed medalist honors in the Net Division, shooting 9-under 99 to better the twosome of Roger and Wyatt Sommers.