Resorters Golf Tournament: Two champs roll on, one falls in Execs

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Defending champion Tim Peterson of Lino Lakes kept his repeat hopes alive yesterday and so did another former Executive Men’s Division champion, Jon Freeman of Chanhassen, who is also this year’s medalist.

But it was the end of the line for another champion – Stefan Freeman of St. Cloud, the 2009 titlist.

The pressure tightens up a notch today when the 16 remaining contenders tee it up from the No. 1 tee at 1:12 p.m.

Here’s a look back at yesterday’s matches:

Peterson def.

Kelly, 4-2

It took defending champ Tim Peterson awhile to get his game going, but when he did, it was lights out for Tim Kelly of Plymouth.

With the match starting on No. 10, the golfers were dead even through the first nine holes. Kelly won Nos. 10 and 17 with birdies while Peterson won Nos. 11 and 14 with pars.

From there, though, it was all Peterson. He won Nos. 1, 4, 6 and 7 with par, birdie, birdie, par to end the match after 16 holes, 4-2.

Kluver def.

Johnson, 3-1

A hot start put A.J. Kluver of Alexandria in the driver’s seat in his match against Jeff Johnson of Chaska. With the match beginning on the back nine, Kluver won Nos. 11, 12 and 13 with par, birdie, par to go 3-up.

Johnson battled back by winning the next two holes with pars but Kluver didn’t wilt, winning the next two holes with par, birdie.

Johnson’s par was good enough to win No. 18, so he trailed by two at the turn.

The match settled into a stalemate for the next three holes with nothing but pars. Kluver finally tipped the momentum with a par win on No. 4 to go 3-up. Both golfers parred the next two holes before Johnson made things interesting with a par win on No. 7 to climb within two.

Kluver, however, calmly made birdie on the next hole to escape with a 3-1 victory.

Heimsness def.

Dilley, 3-1

Eric Heimsness of Woodbury won three of the last four holes to survive a scare from Alexandria’s Dave Dilley.

The match started on No. 10, and Heimsness won that one with par and added wins on Nos. 14 and 15. Dilley, meanwhile, won Nos. 12 and 16 with pars to trail by one at the turn.

Heimsness took No. 1 with birdie, but Dilley roared back with par wins on Nos. 3 and 4 to tie the match.

That’s when Heimsness kicked into high gear, winning Nos. 5 and 6 with pars and ending the match with a par win on No. 8.

Dolan def.

Hafdal, 4-3

John Dolan, a general contractor from Shorewood, knows a thing or two about building. He built a four-hole lead through the first nine holes of his match against Bill Hafdal of Alexandria to coast to a 4-3 victory.

With the match starting from the 10th tee, Dolan won Nos. 12, 13 and 14 with pars to go 3-up. Hafdal briefly rallied with a par win on No. 16, but Dolan nailed down wins on No. 17 with birdie and 18 with par to take a 4-up lead at the turn.

Hafdal managed to win just one more hole – a par on No. 3 that was erased by Dolan’s par win on the next hole. Hafdal could only halve Dolan on the next two holes, which ended the match.

Schomer

def. Harris, 3-2

Daryl Schomer of St. Cloud caught fire in the final stretch of his match to melt Joel Harris of Blaine, 3-2.

The match was dead even after the first nine holes, which started from No. 10. Schomer won Nos. 10, 12 and 18 with birdie, birdie, par while Harris took Nos. 14, 15 and 16 with a pair of pars followed by a birdie.

Harris won No. 1 to regain the lead for the second time, but Schomer kept his cool. He won Nos. 3 and 4 with birdie, par and added two big wins on Nos. 6 and 7 with birdie, par to ice a 3-2 victory.

Marlow def. Schwartz, 4-3

Consistent par play carried Chad Marlow of Wichita, Kansas to a 4-3 win over Kirk Schwartz.

He carded nine pars, winning five of them – Nos. 11, 14, 18, 1, and 5 – and added birdie wins on Nos. 15 and 6.

Schwartz, meanwhile, took just three holes, Nos. 15, 16 and 3 to bow out of contention.

Hagen def.

Raymond, 7-6

Al Hagen of Harrisburg, South Dakota must have been chomping at the bit to start his match against Matt Raymond of Elk River.

Hagen stormed out of the gate, winning the first three holes, No. 10, 11 and 12 (they started play on the back nine) with solid pars. Raymond stopped the bleeding with pars to halve the 13th and 14th holes, but Hagen won No. 15 to go 4-up.

Raymond carded his only win of the match on No. 16 with a par. Hagen, however, was not to be denied. He won Nos. 17 and 18 with pars to take a cushy 5-up lead at the turn and then added par wins on Nos. 1 and 3 to ice an easy 7-6 win.

Jensen def.

Bowen, 4-3

In a battle between Alexandrians, Ken Jensen surged out to a good start against Greg Bowen, winning three of the first four holes, Nos. 10, 12 and 13 (the match started on the back nine).

Bowen drew his first win, a birdie on No. 16, only to drop the next hole to Jensen’s par.

Jensen padded his lead to 4-up with a par win on No. 2. Bowen tried to get back in it with a par win on No. 4 but the rally fizzled. He could only duplicate Jensen’s par on the next hole. The match ended when Jensen’s par won No. 6.

J. Freeman def.

Cummings, 5-4

Steve Cummings must have felt pretty good to win the first hole, No. 10, against the 2010 champion Jon Freeman.

But things went downhill quickly after that.

Freeman powered through wins on Nos. 11, 12 and 13 with par, birdie, birdie to go 2-up and added another birdie win on No. 18 to take a three-hole lead at the turn.

The former champ kept the pressure on with a par win on No. 1 and his fourth birdie of the day on No. 2 to go 5-up. Cummings took advantage of a rare double-bogey by Freeman on the next hole but it wasn’t nearly enough. Freeman took No. 4 with par and then matched Cummings’ par on No. 5 to advance with a 5-4 win.

Johnson def. Wiens, 4-3

Something happened to Chad Johnson of Burnsville when he crossed the road in his match against Chris Wiens of Chaska.

With the match starting from the 10th tee, Johnson held a slim 1-up advantage after the first half of the match, thanks to wins on Nos. 10, 11 and 17, which Wiens offset with wins on Nos. 14 and 15.

Johnson then took command, winning Nos. 1, 2 and 3 with par, birdie par, to go 4-up.

Wiens recovered by winning No. 4, but Johnson wasn’t about to let this one slip away. He won No. 5 with par and matched Wiens’ par on the next hole to win it, 4-3.

Tax def. Wessel, 4-3

Steve Tax of Sartell didn’t drop a hole in the first half of his match against Chris Wessel of Alexandria. With the match starting from the 10th tee, Tax racked up wins on Nos. 10, 12, 13, 17 and 18 with four pars and a birdie to take a comfortable five-hole lead at the turn.

Wessel didn’t cave in so easily, however. He won No. 1 with par, dropped the next two holes to Tax’s birdie, par and then struck for back-to-back par wins on Nos. 4 and 5 to force another hole. That’s where it ended, on No. 6, with both golfers making par, handing Tax a 4-3 victory.

Farley def.

Adams, 3-2

Kevin Farley of Lakeville delivered nothing but wins and halves on the first nine holes in his match against David Adams of Maple Grove. With the match starting on No. 10, Farley won five holes before the crossover, Nos. 12, 13, 15, 16 and 18.

Adams didn’t win a hole until No. 3, a par. He also won the next hole, but Farley dimmed hopes of a comeback with a birdie on No. 5 to go 4-up. Adams won the next hole with a par but could only match Farley’s par on No. 7, which gave Farley a 3-2 win.

Hanson def. S.

Freeman, 1-up

It was the upset of the day. Michael Hanson, a 35-year-old pastor from Glenwood, smote a mighty giant – the division’s 2009 champion, Stefan Freeman.

It took him 18 holes to do it.

Hanson won the first hole of the match, No. 10, with a par and went 2-up with a nifty birdie on No. 12.

Freeman clipped the difference to one with a par on No. 14, but Hanson came right back with a bogey win on No. 15 and a par win on No. 16 to go 3-up.

After pars on No. 17, Freeman drew to within two at the turn with a par win on No. 18.

Freeman struck for two big par wins on Nos. 2 and 3 to make it all square, but Hanson hung tough, winning the next hole with a par to go back into the lead.

Freeman won No. 6 with a bogey to square the match again, but Hanson responded by matching Freeman’s bogey on the next hole and regaining the lead with a par win on No. 8.

Freeman, who never led in the match, could only halve Hanson’s par on the last hole.

Lueck def. Eidsvold, 4-3

Mike Lueck of Alexandria crushed Brian Eidsvold with four big wins on the first nine holes. They came on Nos. 11 and 12 – both birdies – and Nos. 14 and 18 with pars.

Eidsvold mounted a comeback with wins on Nos. 1 and 2, both pars, but Lueck kept his cool, winning Nos. 3 and 4 with birdie, bogey to regain his four-hole lead.

Eidsvold could only match Lueck’s par and bogey on the next two holes, giving Lueck a 4-3 triumph.

Bullard def.

Cattoor, 2-1

Ross Bullard of St. Paul strung together four straight wins in the last half of his match against Justin Cattoor of Rosemount.

With the match starting from the 10th tee, Bullard won only two of the first nine holes – a bogey on No. 10 and a par on No. 17. Cattoor, meanwhile, racked up four birdie wins on Nos. 11, 12, 16 and 18.

The momentum shifted quickly from there.

Bullard won Nos. 5 through 8 with par, bogey, par, par to steal the lead and go 2-up.

Both golfers birdied the next hole and parred the one after that to give Bullard a 2-1 victory.

Abrahamson def.

O’Connor, 4-3

Tom Abrahamson, a 50-year-old risk manager from Wayzata, defeated Alexandria Golf Club course superintendent Donnacha O’Connor, 4-3. Match details were not available.

OPENING ROUND

RESULTS

UPPER BRACKET

Tim Peterson def. Tim Kelly, 4-2

A.J. Kluver def. Jeff Johnson, 3-1

Eric Heimsness def. Dave Dilley, 3-1

John Dolan def. Bill Hafdal, 4-3

Daryl Schomer def. Joel Harris, 3-2

Chad Marlow def. Kirk Schwartz, 4-3

Al Hagen def. Matt Raymond, 7-6

Ken Jensen def. Greg Bowen, 4-3

LOWER BRACKET

Jon Freeman def. Steve Cummings, 5-4

Chad Johnson def. Chris Wiens, 4-3

Steve Tax def. Chris Wessel, 4-3

Kevin Farley def. David Adams, 3-2

Michael Hanson def. Stefan Freeman, 1-up

Mike Lueck def. Brian Eidsvold, 4-3

Ross Bullard def. Justin Cattoor, 2-1

Tom Abrahamson def. Donnacha O’Connor, 4-3

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