By Nick Hunter
WACONIA, Minn. – Jumping out to an early lead Wednesday at Island View Golf Club, the professionals from the Minnesota Section of the PGA held on for a 22-18 victory over the amateurs from the Minnesota Golf Association at the 47th edition of the MGA/PGA Cup Matches.
The professionals have now claimed two of the last three championships, while extending their overall lead at the event to 29-16-2.
“What I love about the event is the two organizations working together in a friendly exhibition,” professional and Augsburg College men’s and women’s head golf coach Eric Rolland said Wednesday. “I’ve never said no to playing in it during the years I’ve been eligible, and I’ve played with a lot of friends over the years.
“I got to play with Tommy Koehler today—he and I go way back. We started making some putts, so that made it pretty fun.”
Rolland and Koehler (Braemar GC) picked up all four possible by winning their four-ball match against the MGA’s Bradley Wohlers and Jason Pendleton, as well as their respective singles matches.
The Minnesota PGA collects its second win since 2022, when it recorded one of the most lopsided victories in tournament history, defeating the MGA 27.5-12.5 at StoneRidge Golf Club.
Playing in the event as a professional for the first time Wednesday, Andrew Israelson (Minneapolis GC) teamed up with Island View head professional Johnny Schwaller to down Joel B. Johnson and Jamie Quesnel.
Israelson edged Johnson, 2 and 1, while Schwaller closed out his match with Quesnel following his 15th hole, to tally a total of four points Wednesday.
“I really enjoy the event and playing match play, especially switching teams for the first time,” Israelson said. “It’s not much different because it’s still a nice, laid-back environment.
“Playing with [Schwaller] was great because he showed me around with his home-course advantage. His game really suits my game as a partner—he plays fast, which I like, and he knows where he’s going. We were both more focused on our individual matches, but it worked out that we were making birdies as a twosome.”
The twosome of Don Berry and Chris Borgen produced a solid showing against 2023 MGA Senior Amateur champion Mark Aldrich and J.T. Johnson, winning their four-ball match, 4 and 3.
Berry (Edinburgh USA) and Borgen (Lost Spur GC) defeated their amateur counterparts by the same margin in each of their respective singles matchups.
Angie Ause (Oak Marsh GC) contributed three points to the professionals, teaming with Lori Money (The Club at Golden Valley) to win their four-ball match against Lynn Anderson and Barbara Miller before Ause cruised past Anderson, 6 and 5, for an extra point.
Eric Chiles (Chaska Town Course) also chipped in three points for the Minnesota PGA, collecting two points during his four-ball match with partner Derek Stendahl (Rush Creek GC), while Chiles rallied late to defeat the MGA’s Tim Peterson, 2 and 1.
A bright spot for the MGA Wednesday was the play of North Dakota State University golfer Madi Hicks, who teamed with Xavier University’s Emma Welch to defeat professionals Kellie Hoiness (Oak Marsh CC) and Haley Tollette (Rum River Hills GC) in four-ball, while Hicks added an extra point for the amateurs by winning her singles match against Hoiness.
“We were able to put three points on the board, so that was nice. Emma had a birdie at the first and that got us off to a good start,” said Hicks, the 2023 Resorters champion. “We timed things nicely and stayed very steady.
“I love playing this event—it’s a little interesting playing a four-ball match and your own individual match because there’s a lot going on, but I really like playing it.”
Defending MGA Senior Players’ champion Jerry Rose and defending MPGA Combination champion Ryan Conn were the only other two players for the MGA to help earn three points for the amateurs.