ALEXANDRIA — Alexandria native Bryce Hanstad has put together quite a summer on the amateur golf tournament scene, and that will continue into the early fall after he qualified for the 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship recently.
Hanstad, who won a men’s championship at the Resorters in 2007 during his college playing days at Colorado State University, finished in a three-way tie for first at the U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier played at The Wilds Golf Club in Prior Lake on Aug. 2. Hanstad, Plymouth’s Robert Newbold and Rosemount’s Max Tylke all shot rounds of 3-under par 69.
“Any time you can get into a USGA event, the tournaments they put on at the courses they have is always a treat,” Hanstad said in an interview with Nick Hunter of the Minnesota Golf Association after the win. “After playing in Charlotte in 2018, this one has always been circled on the calendar to try and get back.”
This year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur is being played at Erin Hills in Wisconsin from Sept. 10-15.
Hanstad played well on the front in Prior Lake on Aug. 2 with a birdie at the par-five second hole and another on the par-three seventh. That was surrounded by all pars.
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He had a couple of bogeys on the back at holes 14 and 18, both par fours, but an eagle at the par-four 16th helped negate those.
Hanstad drove the green on the 16th and sank the eagle putt. He also birdied the 10th to put him at 3-under for the day in some hot and windy weather conditions.
“It was a grind,” Hanstad told Hunter. “I hit it really well. I was a little tentative on putting, but for the most part, I was able to strike the ball around enough to be successful. I set myself up and hit the ball well off the tee."
Hanstad, now 35-years-old and living in Edina, was in control of his game all day.
“It was pretty stress-free for the most part. I think I missed one green coming in,” Hanstad said. “My game feels like it’s not drastically different than it’s been over the last couple of years. Maybe continued reps and getting more comfortable with a few things I’m working on with my swing coach.”
Hanstad also won the MGA Mid-Players Championship at The Royal Club in Lake Elmo in June. He edged Ryan Conn in that event. Conn has made a deep run into this year’s Men’s Championship at the Resorters Tournament where he won 5-4 and 4-3 matches to start this week on his way to the quarterfinals.
Troy Johnson of Maple Grove, the 4-four-time-repeat champion in the Men’s Executive Division at the Resorters, also took advantage of his day off from playing at this year’s Resorters to play in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying tournament in Prior Lake on Aug. 2. Johnson almost matched Hanstad, finishing as the second alternate with a 1-under par 71.
Johnson has made six appearances at the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship since 2006. He was once again in the running for a title at this year’s Resorters in the Men’s Execs field after rolling into the quarterfinals.
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