MEDINA, Minn. – Shrugging off a double-bogey to begin her back nine Monday, University of Minnesota golfer Madison Le tallied four birdies over her final eight holes at Medina Golf and Country Club to take the opening-round lead at the 2025 Minnesota Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship.
Le will take a two-stroke advantage to Tuesday’s second round over recent Class AAA individual champion and 2025 Ms. Minnesota Golf award recipient Ava Hanneman.
“I came in today thinking ‘Fairways and greens,’ but I was a little frustrated on the front nine,” Le said following her round Monday. “I had a lot of good looks, but couldn’t buy a putt. I had a few lip out and finally made one on nine.
“Combining two bad mistakes [on No. 10] kind of lit a fire under my butt and got it going on the back. Figured if I couldn’t get the putter working, I just had to hit it a little closer. I was pushing a little too hard.”
Carding consecutive pars to begin her first round Monday, Le converted her first birdie opportunity of the round at the par-4 ninth to turn in red figures before taking double-bogey at the 10th.
Le would quickly bounce back by capitalizing on consecutive birdie chances from inside of eight feet at the 11th and 12th holes to return to red figures for her round.
She moved to 2-under after running in her birdie chance from 12 feet at the 14th and finished her day by chipping in for birdie from 35 feet at the 16th to pace the field with a 3-under 69.
“I knew I was hitting it great all day and didn’t need to push anything. If I set myself up on the green, a putt will drop here and there,” Le said. “Then had a good back nine—felt like if I was in the fairway, I had a lot of trust in my irons. The greens were holding really well, had my distances down and the greens felt soft, so it was easy to score.
“I practice here all year round, so I should be well adjusted to Minnesota rough and fairways, and it worked out in my favor. Off the tee is super important because the rough is thicker. Hitting [long irons] or woods from the rough is not going to be sustainable.
Le, a native of Dallas, played her first two seasons of collegiate golf at the University of Texas-Arlington before transferring to Minnesota for her junior year.
During her first season with the Gophers, Le started three events, including the Annika Intercollegiate where she placed 59th individually.
Putting together a historic run to begin the summer season, Hanneman closed out her senior season at Orono High School by earning Ms. Minnesota Golf honors before capping off her high school career with a state individual title.
The following day, Hanneman earned a spot in the 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur and claimed the Minnesota State Junior Girls’ Championship two weeks later.
On Monday, Hanneman rolled in a 10-footer for birdie at the third to start the scoring, then carded a second birdie at the fifth, dropping her birdie look from 20 feet.
She’d remain at 2-under over her next eight holes before her only bogey of the opening round came at the par-5 14th.
Carding consecutive pars over her last four holes kept Hanneman within striking distance of the lead, two shots back at 1-under 71.
“Ball-striking was really solid. I didn’t make a ton of putts, but enough to make a couple of birdies along the way,” Hanneman said. “Iron play feels good right now. My driver is straight enough, but I just need to make a few more putts I’ll be in a good spot.
“I’m excited coming in—I have a lot of confidence right now and momentum is helping me out. It’s been a good summer so far.”
The soon-to-be freshman at Furman University will look to improve on a fourth-place finish last year at Minnewaska Golf Club, highlighted by a final-round 71.
“Par and birdies—keep hitting fairways and greens,” she said. “Keep it simple and take one shot at a time.”
North Dakota State University golfer Cora Larson fired a round of even par 72 Monday to finish her opening round tied for third with St. Catherine University’s Caylin Cantwell, three shots off the lead, while Alyssa Raghuveer, a senior at Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School, will begin Tuesday’s second round in fifth place following her round of 1-over 73.
Oliva Herrick and Kathryn VanArragon, both two-time winners of the event, carded rounds of 2-over 74 to finish the opening round five shots back of the lead in a tie for sixth with Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Victoria Woytassek.
The 2025 MGA Women’s Amateur Championship continues Tuesday when the second round gets underway at 9 a.m. at Medina Golf and Country Club.