By Leah Herzog
WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. – After a solid round of 67 in the first round, Michael Schmitz came charging in the second round of the Minnesota PGA Foundation Pro-Am presented by Blaze Credit Union.
Schmitz started his round 2-under par through the first four holes to set the tone for the day. He then proceeded to make the turn at 3-under par after making back to back birdies on the par 5s hole 17 and 18.
“I hit the ball really well off the tee today,” Schmitz conveyed after his round, “It gave me a lot of scoring clubs coming in.”
Schmitz’s bogey free back nine resulted in a round of a 5-under par 66 to position him at a total of 9 under-par for the event.
Heading into tomorrow, Schmitz will have a two stroke lead over Andrew Israelson, who sits at 7-under par total. Israelson made headway in the afternoon wave to conclude his round at a 3-under par 68.
Thomas Campbell shot a round of even par to stay at 6 under-par, while Chris Borgen had a round of 4-under par to climb up to T3 with Campbell at 6-under par.
Justin Burleson continued the tournament with a steady round of even par to remain the amateur leader by nine strokes over Joe Honsa at 4-over par.
Not only is Burleson leading in the amateur field, but his team (Smed/Burleson/Retka/Kennedy) is sitting on top of the leaderboard at 30-under par with a one shot lead heading into the final round Sunday.
Jeff Sorenson’s round of 2-under par 69 led his team to the low scoring team of the day at 20-under par. Their jump in the leaderboard placed them in 2nd and one stroke back heading into the final round.
Through 36-holes, teams 19-under or better, individual professionals even or better and individual amateurs 11-over or better have successfully made the cut to compete on Sunday, June 9.
Tee times will begin at 8:00 AM off hole 1 and 10 for the final round.
NOTABLES
Craig Brischke aced the 186 yard par 3, hole 2.
Eddie Wynne also shared the low round of the day with Schmitz at a 5-under par 66.
2024 MINNESOTA PGA FOUNDATION PRO-AM
SOUTHVIEW COUNTRY CLUB
WEST ST. PAUL
6,062 YARDS, PAR 71
SATURDAY’S SECOND ROUND RESULTS:
TEAM CONTEST:
1. Smed/Burleson/Retka/Kennedy (-30)
2. Sorenson/Daniels/Bosshart/Tufvander (-29)
T3. Campbell/Haslerud/Kowalski/Gustafson (-28)
T3. Israelson/Flynn/Larson/Busho (-28)
5. Wynne/Dew/Angell/Kane (-27)
T6. Berry/Irwin/Clark/Sullivan (-26)
T6. Snyder/Wood/Wood/Honsa (-26)
T8. LaCoursiere/LeBlanc/Huebsch/Hayne (-23)
T8. Shafranski/Grove/Grove/Eilers (-23)
PROFESSIONAL CONTEST:
1. Michael Schmitz 67-66–133
2. Andrew Israelson 67-68–135
T3. Thomas Campbell 65-71–136
T3. Chris Borgen 69-67–136
T5. Grant Shafranski 68-69–137
T5. Eric Chiles 70-67–137
T7. Don Berry 69-69–138
T7. Scott Cole 67-71–138
T7. Ross Miller 70-68–138
AMATEUR CONTEST:
1. Justin Burleson 66-71–137
2. Joe Honsa 72-74–146
T3. Jake Erickson 75-75–150
T3. Steve Busho 74-76–150
T5. Eric Hayne 74-78–152
T5. Logan Mitchell 77-75–152
T5.Robert Dew 79-73–152
8. Michael Ingeman 77-76–153
For complete tournament results go to: https://mnpga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/mnpga24/event/mnpga2416/contest/17/leaderboard.htm