Fast Start Propels McCain into First-Round Lead at Southview

WEST ST. PAUL -- Andrew McCain showed up at Southview Country Club on Friday for the first round of the Minnesota PGA Foundation Pro-Am (formerly the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am) having never played in the tournament before. As a matter of fact, he had never set eyes on the course before. 

Not a problem. 

On the 350-yard first hole, he hit a 50-yard wedge to within 8 feet of the hole and made the putt for a birdie. A 9-iron to 10 feet at the par-3 second resulted in another birdie, and another 300-yard drive an 50-yard wedge left him with a 7-footer, which he drained for his third birdie in a row. 

His Southview debut got even better at the 460-yard, par-5 fourth hole, where he had just a wedge left after another 300-yard drive. He hit it to 5 feet and made the eagle putt -- 5 under after four holes!

The former two-time Minnesota State Open champion (2015 and '18) added a birdie at the par-5 sixth by chipping his third shot to within a foot of the cup. He thought he had another birdie at the seventh, but his putt from 8 feet lipped out. He capped off his spectacular front nine by hitting a flip wedge to 1 foot at the ninth.

McCain tapped it in for an outgoing 7-under 29. 

Not bad for a first-timer. 

By comparison with those five birdies and an eagle on the front, his back nine was a little bit boring. Five consecutive pars, and then his only bogey of the day at the 157-yard, par-3 15th, where his tee shot trickled just over the green, and he failed to get up and  down. 

He got that lost shot back at the 490-yard, par-5 17th, where he hit a 7-iron to 30 feet and two-putted for a birdie. At the par-5 18th, his second shot found the thick, grabby rough to the left of the green. A little bit of a gouge-out style chip shot was required from there to a green slopping away from him, but the  31-year-old pro from Albion Ridges GC got it to 4 feet and made the putt for his seventh birdie of the afternoon -- and an 8-under 63.

What's more, he put up that number without making a putt over 10 feet. 

As a result, he leads the tournament -- which has been reduced from the traditional 54 holes to 36 this year -- by three shots over Eric Rolland, the former Division III All-American from Augsburg University, who, 17 years after he graduated, took over as the Auggies' head golf coach in 2014.

Right behind him at 67 is a small posse of six that  includes Jeff Sorenson, a former Tapemark champion (2009) and a seven-time Minnesota  PGA Section Player of the Year.

Also in that group are long-hitting -- even by modern standards -- Trey Fessler, Thomas Avant, Josh Baldus, Grant Shafranski and Zach Sklebar. 

And then came the fivesome at 68. Thomas Campbell, who leads the points standings for the 2025 Minnesota Section Player of the Year is there, joined at 3 under by the defending champion, Andrew Israelson, and another former Tapemark champ, Chris Meyer, not to mention five-time Tapemark winner Don Berry -- who is also a 17-time Minnesota Section Player of the Year!  

It's been a good week for  Rolland, who at 50 has joined the 63-year-old Berry in the Senior Ranks. And on Tuesday, he qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, which will be played at the Broadmoor East Course in Colorado Springs, Colo. in three weeks. Rolland did that by making two birdies in the last five holes and shooting a 1-under 69 in a Sectional Qualifier at Oconomowoc GC in Wisconsin.

That put him in a six-way tie for fifth place in a field of 59. (He had to win a three-man playoff in the Local Qualifier at Bearpath G&CC a couple of weeks earlier just to get to Oconomowoc.) Among the players Rolland tied on Tuesday were Scott McCarron, Dicky Pride and Paul Goydos. Those three have won a combined total of 14 PGA Tour titles and 17 PGA Champions Tour victories.

"It felt pretty good just to be in that company," Rolland said Friday.   

It looked as if those six-guys tied for fifth would be in a seven-man playoff for six spots, because another college coach, Mike Small of Illinois, was also tied with them as he went to the 18th hole. But Small, whose Illinois teams have dominated the Big Ten -- with its 18 teams -- for more than a decade, and who has qualified for multiple Senior Opens himself, bogeyed the 18th. And that meant no playoff.  

On Friday, Rolland started on the back nine at Southview and went right to work, setting up birdies at the 11th and 12th holes with wedge shots to 12 and 5 feet. Four pars followed. At the 17th, he hit a 7-wood over the green and neglected to get it up and down for a birdie, but he did birdie the 18th, hitting a 4-iron to 30 feet and two-putting from there. 

An 8-iron to 10 feet at the par-3 second got him to 4 under, and he followed it with another birdie at the third. As a general rule, the best scores at Southview come from players who beat up on the four relatively short par 5s. But having parred the 17th, Rolland parred the fourth, as well.

It looked as if he might actually bogey the par-5 sixth, but after a couple of less-than-stellar shots on his way the green, he holed a bunker shot and escaped with a birdie. He got to 7 under for the day with a birdie at the eighth. 

The difference between McCain and Rolland on Friday -- three shots -- was the ninth hole. McCain stiffed his second shot for gimme birdie. Rolland made a double bogey.  

"I didn't really hit any bad shots on the hole," Rolland said. "My tee shot wasn't that far off line, but it caught a tree and ended up in a hole," and the next thing he knew, he was signing for a 6.

"I just had some bad luck on that hole," he lamented. "But I had some good luck on other holes. That's the way it goes."

Minnesota PGA Foundation Pro-Am

At Southview Country Club 

Par 71, 6,042 yards

West St. Paul 

First-round results

Professionals

T3. Jeff Sorenson, Minikahda Club                   67

T3. Thomas Avant, Northern Hills GC               67

T3. Josh Baldus, Interlaken Golf Club               67

T3. Trey Fessler, Albany GC                               67

T3. Grant Shafranski, North Oaks Golf Club      67

T3. Zach Sklebar, Moorhead CC                        67

T9. Thomas Campbell, Bolstad/University GC   68

T9. Chris Meyer, Southview CC                          68

T9 Andrew Israelson, Minneapolis Golf Club      68

T9. Bennett Smed, White Bear Yacht Club         68

T9. Don Berry, Edinburgh USA Golf Club            68

T14. Jack Hiemenz, Victory Liinks GC                 69

T14. Matthew Sandquist, Edina CC                     69

T14. Matt Newman, Minikahda Club                   69

T14. Muzzy Donohue, North Oaks Golf Club      69

T14. Jonathan Reigstad, Keller GC                    69

T14. Kyle Scanlon, Northfield Golf Club             69

T20 Craig Brischke, Tanners Brook Golf Club    70

T20. Chris Borgen, Lost Spur GC                   70

T20. Kyle Brandt, Hazeltine National              70

T20. Greg Avant, Northern Hills Golf Club      70

T20. Lucas Johnson, Suite Shots                   70

Amateurs

T2. Brett Gaustad, Edinburgh USA                    71

T2. Joe Honsa, Southview CC                           71

T4. Wyatt Carlson, Rush Creek Golf Club          72

T4. James Buttermore, Stoneridge Golf Club    72

T6. Justin Burleson, Mendakota Country Club  73

T6. Pepi Irwin, Minnesota Golf Community        73

Teams

T2. Smed/Burleson/Retka/Kennedy                   123

T2. McCain/Schweiger/Hackworthy/Fair            123

T2. Newman/Kowalski/Kowalski/Haslerud          123

T5. Campbell/Alberts/Harrison/Nelson                124

T5. Borgen/Scott/Matthews/Petrich                     124