Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2014 - 33

(score card
)
Jesse Bull
MGA
Jesse Bull Wins MGA
Amateur Championship
AMATEUR
CHAMPIONSHIP
By Nick Hunter | Photos by Mark Brettingen and W.P. Ryan
C
harles Sawyer was the last player to win the Minnesota
Golf Association Amateur Championship
on his home course, which he did in 1948 at Interlachen
Country Club.
When Jesse Bull's four-foot birdie found the bottom of the cup
to clinch the 111th Amateur Championship, he became the fi rst
home-course champion at Golden Valley Golf and Country Club
since George Wright in 1939.
Bull rolled in a birdie on the 18th hole to card a 2-under-par 70
during the fi nal round July 23 to fi nish the championship at 4-under-par
212, one stroke better than Erik Christopherson's 213.
He began the fi nal round in second place, two shots off the
lead, but was frustrated after the conclusion of his round Tuesday,
fi nishing with three consecutive bogeys to shoot 1-over-par 73.
" I tried to forget about yesterday, " he said. " I thought about it a
little bit last night and it was just one of those things you couldn't
really put a fi nger on. I learned a couple of things from it but I
was looking forward to a fresh start today. "
" Having that comeback mentality kind of put me in a forward
mindset to be smartly aggressive, but patient at the same time, "
Bull said. " I didn't have to go crazy at pins, and in the end I was a
little fortunate that no one else lit it up. "
Playing in the fi nal group with Troy Johnson and Christopherson,
all three players made birdie to open the round. Bull three-putted
two par-5s after reaching the green in two, with the fi rst coming on
the sixth hole, where he ended up making par.
" Those are usually hurtful-you gotta two-putt those, " he said.
" That's a part of the game that you need to have and would've
been the difference if someone really got going today. Six was one
that hurt; that is not a hard two-putt. "
Bull's only potentially costly mistake of the round came on the
seventh hole, when his approach fl ew the green to the bunker
behind. His third from the sand wouldn't settle on the forward
sloped green and he two-putted for bogey.
His second three-putt came on the par-5 10th hole after he
lagged his eagle putt to less than two feet. Bull's birdie slipped
past the hole and he tapped in for par.
" It was a one-and-a-half foot putt, " Bull smirked after his
round. " I hoped that wasn't going to come back and haunt me. "
Bull had a fantastic up-and-down on the 14th to remain at
2-under for the championship after his tee shot clipped the trees
along the 14th fairway. He lofted a wedge over the trap to the
green but his ball rolled eight feet past the pin. He rolled in a
slick, left-to-right putt to save par and remain at 2-under.
" I made one good putt, really, on 15. The sidewinder on 14
from about eight feet was my second best putt of the day, " Bull
said.
On the 15th, Bull put his approach to 15 feet and drained the
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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2014

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