Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2021 - 30

BACK
MGA AM RECAP
2021 Tournament Champions
MGA Amateur Summary
* BY NICK HUNTER *
* PHOTOS BY MARK BRETTINGEN,
JEFF LAWLER & W.P. RYAN *
Hitchner Sets 54-Hole Records at
118th MGA Amateur Championship
T
he last time Derek Hitchner
claimed a state championship
in Minnesota, he broke the
Class AA scoring record by
shooting 10-under 134 in 2016 at Ridges
at Sand Creek to cap off his sophomore
season at the Blake School. Hitchner
notched a second state championship
by breaking a pair of Minnesota
Golf Association Amateur
Championship records: best subpar
fi nish and lowest 54-hole
cumulative score, after posting
a 15-under par 201, July 21
at Rush Creek Golf Club in
Maple Grove to win the 118th
MGA Amateur.
" Winning this tournament
has always been a goal
of mine because I've played
with so many of these players
and I've played in it four
or fi ve times before, " Hitchner
said following his round
Wednesday. " It means the world
to me to be able to get this done.
I knew it would be tough, but
I'm thankful to come out on top. "
The Pepperdine University golfer
recently carded a 7-under 281 to
win the 117th Trans-Mississippi
Amateur Championship at
Windsong Farm July 9, plus a top-20 fi nish
at the Sunnehanna Amateur in June.
A few days later Hitchner qualifi ed for
his third U.S. Amateur Championship by
tallying a 36-hole score of 6-under 138,
and then followed it with a runner-up fi nish
at the Minnesota State Open at Chaska
Town Course, shooting 12-under 132.
Including his win at Rush Creek, Hitchner
has shot even par or better in 16 of his last
18 competitive rounds, with 12 consecutive
rounds under par. Hitchner has played his
last 327 holes in a combined 38-under par.
" This month has been pretty surreal, "
Hitchner said. " Golf is so unpredictable.
Going into the Trans-Miss, I was playing
pretty badly-I had just fi nished [tied for
84th at Pinehurst]. I wasn't feeling great,
but felt like if I kept working hard that I
could break through. Thankfully that's
happened and I've been able to sustain
it. I'm trying to take it day by day, but it's
been a pretty cool stretch. "
Carding a tournament-low 8-under 64
to open the championship, Hitchner followed
it with a 4-under 68 to take a onestroke
lead over Caleb VanArragon after
36 holes of play.
Unable to convert multiple birdie
chances early in the fi nal round, Hitchner
started the scoring by sinking backto-back
birdies from eight feet at the
30
MINNESOTAGOLFER Fall 2021
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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2021

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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2021 - 1
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