Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2017 - 6

BY THE NUMBERS
A Numbers Game
A look back at the numbers of the 2016 MGA tournament season.
* BY JOSEPH OBERLE *
W
hen considering numbers in golf, the game is
unique among sports-the lower the number the
better, generally speaking. Also interesting is that
the values of numbers in golf change. For example, a three on
one hole is often just as good as a four
on another one. That can make numbers
in golf fascinating-and tournament
golf even more so.
In 2016, the MGA ran its typical calendar
of events (you can see the 2017
list on page 22), which totaled 98 MGA
tournaments, state and USGA qualifiers,
and affiliate events. That translates
into 60 different tournament courses
(and course setups) over 90 days of
competition in a 149-day season from
May to October.
For those MGA events, 1,478 players
competed, and 804 players teed it
up in the USGA events, for a grand total
of 5,480 rounds of golf. Of course,
the MGA staff had help with all that
tournament play, as 156 volunteers put
in 498 volunteer days (that is 4,737
volunteer hours) last season-and we
aren't even talking about the Ryder
Cup matches!
It's quite an undertaking, but well
ALEX ULOTH
Bruce Odlaug (a month shy of 76 years old), who took the Senior
Amateur in the Grand Masters category.
Golf is truly a game for all ages-even tournament golf-
-8
worth it, as the region is provided with
some fantastic golf competition. We saw the youngest winner
of the year in Junior Boys' Player of the Year Frankie Capan at
17 years and 0 months (see page 10), and the oldest winner in
-11
The lowest winning
score to par in the
MGA Amateur (1979
to present): Tom Hoge,
205 (2010), Dacotah
Ridge Golf Club
6
+8
The highest winning
score to par in the
MGA Amateur (1979 to
present): John Harris,
224 (1987), Hazeltine
National Golf Club
MINNESOTAGOLFER Spring 2017
82.093
The scoring average of
the MGA Mid-Amateur
field at Baker National
Golf Course-the highest
of the season.
Lowest score of the tournament season
and Evan Johnson, at 11 years and 9 months, was the youngest
competitor this season (on the MGA
Junior Team), while the venerable
Bud Chapman is still competing at 93
years young. Both impressive feats.
The golf itself included plenty of
good shots, as there were 878 birdies
carded in the MGA Amateur and 571
in the Mid-Amateur. The number of
eagles shot in those events were 23
and 12, respectively. In addition, the
2016 tournament season included
seven aces-three of them came in
one round of the Four-Ball at Edina
Country Club: Adam Darula on
the 120-yard fourth with a pitching
wedge, Jack Riester on the 194-yard
seventh with a 4-iron and Ben Tharp
on the 158-yard 11th with a pitching
wedge. You can almost imagine the
cheers of excitement that day.
Perhaps the loudest ovation belonged
to Alex Uloth, who carded
the lowest score of the entire tournament
season. Uloth shot a -8, 63
in the first round of the 113th MGA
Amateur at North Oaks Golf Club. He went on to win the
Amateur title by making an eagle at the last hole. Uloth went
lowest, and in golf that deserves the highest praise.
9
The number of
weather-impacted
events in 2016-affecting
everything
from setup to causing
an event to be moved
to a new site.
32,000
Number of tees used
(give or take)
in the 2016
MGA
tournament
season.
www.mngolf.org
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2017
