MGA ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL GOLF DAY MINNESOTA
April 15, 2024
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – For a second consecutive round, former University of Minnesota golfer Ben Greve paced the field on his home course at Olympic Hills Golf Club to take the 36-hole lead at the 119th Minnesota Golf Association Amateur Championship.
Greve followed his opening-round 66 with a 1-over 73 Tuesday and will carry a five-stroke advantage over University of St. Thomas golfer Matt Armstrong and recent Class AA medalist Sam Udovich to Wednesday’s final round.
“My goal was to try to get to [10-under] but the wind was blowing so hard,” the two-time Minnesota State Open champion Greve said after his second round Tuesday. “I just tried to hit the ball in the fairway and on the green and take what it gave me.
“I think tomorrow is supposed to be breezy, so we’ll see what it’s like, but it’s nice to be in a position where if I play well, someone will have to shoot a really good number to catch me.”
Wedging his approach to four feet at the fifth, Greve converted his birdie chance to reach 7-under for the tournament, but would give back a stroke with a three-putt bogey at the sixth. He left his approach short of the ninth green, but got up-and-down to save par from six feet to remain at 6-under.
A bogey at the 10th put the 2018 MGA Men’s Player of the Year at 1-over for the round, but a tap-in birdie at the par-5 14th put Greve back up by six.
Missing the green left at the 18th led to the third bogey of Greve’s second round and he’d post a 1-over 73 to take a five-stroke cushion to the final 18 holes of play.
“I stayed patient and, overall, played pretty good again today,” the 41-year-old Greve said Tuesday. “Didn’t hit it as close—it was hard with the wind. I hit a lot of fairways and if I didn’t hit greens, I still gave myself good looks at par.”
Despite a sizeable lead after 36 holes, Greve said he has no plans to play it safe during the final round Wednesday.
“I’m fairly aggressive, but it’ll depend on the wind again tomorrow,” Greve said. “I’d like to stay aggressive because if you start to play too cautious, I think you start to walk into problems. You just go play. I’ll pick a number and go chase that.
“Like any tournament, you just want to have a chance on the back nine of the final round.”
After regaining his amateur status in 2014, Greve won the 2017 Minnesota State Open at Bunker Hills, and would successfully defend his title the following season at StoneRidge Golf Club. He was denied a third State Open title in 2021, falling to Cecil Belisle in a one-hole playoff at Chaska Town Course.
A win Wednesday would be his first in four seasons, marking just the second time since 1948 that a player has won the MGA Amateur Championship on his home course.
Armstrong, an Eden Prairie, Minn., native, posted a 2-under 70 Monday to begin the second round four shots off the lead, but would get off to a rocky start Tuesday with a bogey on his opening hole.
The soon-to-be sophomore would trade a birdie at the sixth for a bogey at the seventh to turn in 1-over for his round. Armstrong converted his birdie look at the par-5 14th to get back to 1-under for the championship, but took back-to-back bogeys at the 16th and 17th.
He answered by sinking a final birdie at the 18th to card a 74 to finish tied for second with Udovich at even par 144.
Udovich began his second round seven shots back following his opening-round 73 Monday. Despite wind gusts over 40 MPH Tuesday, Udovich turned in one of the cleaner scorecards during the second round, turning in even par with nine consecutive pars.
He carded his lone bogey of the round at the par-4 10th, but would capitalize on two birdie chances at the 11th and 14th holes to turn in one of just three rounds below par during Tuesday’s second round at 1-under 71.
Sam Foust, a former Edina High School standout and current University of San Diego assistant coach, carded a pair of late birdies Tuesday to bounce back from a string of three straight bogeys during his final nine hole to post a second-round 74. He will begin the final round in fourth place at 1-over 145, six shots back.
The final round of the 119th MGA Amateur Championship is scheduled to begin at 7:40 a.m. Wednesday at Olympic Hills Golf Club.
April 15, 2024
April 9, 2024
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