Test
May 1, 2024
BLAINE -- The last 12 months have seen a lot of success by Minnesota golfers. Derek Hitchner made it to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur in August of 2022, and Frankie Capan cruised through the four stages of Korn Ferry Q-School lat fall. Hitchner, who was a fifth-year grad student at Pepperdine (with a 3.95 GPA), won one of the biggest tournaments of the 2022-23 college season, the Western Intercollegiate. He went on to finish 11th individually at the NCAA Championships this spring and received All-American honors. Bella McCauley capped off her freshman season at Minnesota by tying for second in the Big Ten Conference tournament , and she defied the odds by making it all the way to the NCAA tournament as an individual. Her sister Reese won the Class AAA title at the state high school tournament for the second time in three years, and last week she made it to the Round of 16 at the U.S. Girls Junio.
And then there is Caleb VanArragon. After winning the State Open by nine strokes with a record low 54-hole total of 197 at Oak Ridge two weeks ago, he demolished another strong field in the State Amateur last week, winning by 12 strokes with the incomprehensilbly low total of 193 (23 under par) at Minneapolis Golf Club, which is not exactly an easy course.
Considering all that, it seems fitting that there will be more players (9) from Minnesota or with Minnesota connections than ever before in the 3M Open this week.
Tom Hoge leads the list. He grew up in Fargo, but he won the Minnesota State Amateur twice (2009 and '10), then turned professional in 2011, and after a relatively slow start, he has been one of the biggest money-winners on the PGA Tour in recent years. Hoge claimed his first PGA Tour victory in 2022, at the AT&T Pro-Am, has more than $4 million in earnings so far for the 2022-23 season, and his career total now stands at more than $15.5 million. Not that it's a fair comparison, because of the dramatic increases in purse sizes during recent years, but Hoge's career earnings are more than double what Jack Nicklaus made during his career as one of the two greatest players -- along with Tiger Woods -- in PGA Tour history.
Compared with what they've done in previous years, Erik Van Rooyen , the former University of Minnesota star from South Africa, and Troy Merritt, the basketball/golf star from Spring Lake Park, have both been struggling this year. It's hard to feell sorry for a guy who's made $748,669 (Merritt) or for someone who's made $642,246 (Van Rooyen), but they're both outside of the top 125 on the PGA Tour money list -- or is it only the top 70 that matters now? In any case, they both need to get going if they're going to retain their fully exempt status for 2024, and the 3M Open at the TPC Twin Cities would seem like a good place for them to get started.
In addition fo Hoge, Van Rooyen and Merritt, Capan and Hitchner will be in the field at the 3M by virtue of sponsor's exemptions. They were obivious choices. So was Thomas Lehman, the son of Tom Lehman, winner of a major championship (the 1996 Bridish Open) and a former No. 1 player in the world rankings -- and undeniably the most successful golfer that Minnesota has ever produced. Lehman the Younger played his college golf at Cal Poly. He turned pro last year and has four top-20 finishes in the six tournaments that he's played this summer on the Dakotas Tour, including a tie for third earlier this month in the Central Valley Open at Central Valley GC in Hartford, S.D.
Also in the field will be Augsburg University head coach Eric Rolland, who got his spot by having earned Player of the Year honors in the Minnesota Section PGA. Rolland has won 29 times in Minnesota Section events, including three Assistant Championships, and he he five Minnesota PGA major titles on his resume.
The number of sponsor's exemptions is limited, and 3M Open director Hollis Cavner didn't have any left by last Wednesday, when VanArragon concluded his State Am conquest and completed the most impressive two-week stretch of golf by any Minnesota amateur -- ever. Cavner lamanted at the time that he didn't have any sponsor's exemptions left, but the resourceful Cavner managed to find a way, and on Sunday night he awarded the last of this year's sponsor's exemptions to VanArragon, who is still an amateur and will be a fifth-year senior at Valparaiso this fall. (He was named a first-team At-Large Academic All-American this spring, after achieving a perfect 4.0 Grade-Point Average as a biology and statistics double major at Valpo.)
So that meant there were four spots in the 3M Open still available -- all of them at the Monday Qualifying at Victory Links in Blaine. Daniel Gable, an Aussie from Sidney, got the first of those spots , and he didn't leave much doubt about it. He shot a course-record, 11-under-par 60 in the qualifier. The 27-year-old from Sidney now lives iin Castle Hills, Ga., and he hasn't won since the 2021 Western (Australia) Open at Dubbo GC, but he lit up the back nine at Victory Links. Having made the turn at 3 under par, he birdied the first four holes on the back nine, added birdies at the 15th and 16th holes, and he capped off his day by holing a 128-yard wedge shot at the 453-yard, par-4 18th, for an eagle -- and 60.
Gale was five clear of everyone else in the Monday Qualifier. Four players tied for second at 65, and one of them was Alex Gaugert, a former Gopher. He was a teammate of Van Rooyen's a decade ago, and he's spent a lot of his time in recent years caddying for Van Rooyen. It's been a pretty good gig. As an example, he got $63,000 (the standard 10 percent) for one week two years ago, when Van Rooyen won the Barracuda Championship, and Van Rooyen has made roughly $5 million on the PGA Tour, plus an equal amount -- in euros -- on what is now the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour).
But Gaugert, who grew up in Lake Geneva, Wis., but now lives in Edina, can still play, too, as he demonstrated Monday at Victory Links. His round didn't start all that promisingly. He parred the first hole, and bogeyed the second, but he birdied the fourth, seventh and ninth holes. That got him to 2 under as he headed for the 10th tee. He birdied the par-5 12th, but what made his round was the combination of an eagle at the 560-yard, par-5 16th and a birdie at the. 231-yard, par 3 17th, which got him to 6 under, and he parred the 18th for a 65, thus putting him into the playoff for the last spots in the 3M Open -- and he survived it.
Kaito Onishi had a similar round, and the same score. He bogeyed the first hole, birdied the second and bogeyed the third. He got back to even par with a birdie at the 579-yard, par-5 fifth and got into red figures (under par) when he birdied the 160-yard, par-3 eighth. The 24-year-old Onishi's round got significantly better over a five-hole stretch on the back nine. He birdied the par-4 12th, parred the 13th, then birdied 14th, the 15th and eagled the 16th. After that, he parred the long, par-3 17th and the 18th, which got him into the 4-for-3 playoff for the remaining spots in the 3M Open.
The other player to emerge from the playoff was Noah Hofman. He made his move on the front nine, with birdies at the first, second, fifth and eighth holes. From there, he was just trying to hang on, with pars at the ninth, 10th and 11th, before he birdied the 12th. He parred the 13th and 14th, before making a bogey at the 15th, but saved his round -- and chances to get into the 3M -- with birdies at the par-5 16th and the par-4 18th for his 65.
Sam Harned, as it turned out, was the unlucky loser with 65.
3M Open Qualifying
At Victory Links Golf Course
Par 71, 7,048 yards
Blaine
Final results (the top four finishers qualify to play in the 3M Open, beginning Thursday at TPC Twin Cities)
1. Daniel Gale, Australia 60
T2. Alex Gaugert, Lake Geneva, Wis. 65
T2. Kaito Onishi, Ponte Vedra, Fla. 65
T2. Noah Hofman, McCook, Neb. 65
Did not qualify
5. Sam Harned, Rocklin, Calif. 65 (lost four-man playoff)
T6. Andrew McCain, Mpls. 66
T6. Daniel Core, Sorrento, Fla. 66
T6. Grant Booth, Las Vegas 66
T6. Nick Voke, Ames, iowa 66
T30. Jack Ebner, Edina 69
T30. Brady Madsen, Raymond, Mn. 69
T38. Ernie Rose, Edina 70
T45. Josh Persons, Fargo 71
T48. Tristan Nelko, Wayzata 73
WD -- Trey Fessler, Hanover
NC -- Muzzy Donohue, North Oaks.
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