Wilson wows, Conn sizzles

By Al Edenloff and Jake Sutherlin Alexandria Echo Press

Jacques Wilson continues to turn back the hands of time to 2014 when he won the Resorters Men’s Championship.

In Friday’s quarterfinals, Wilson, the No. 9 seed, upended the division’s medalist and No. 1 seed, Josh Galvin of Maple Grove.

Another highlight of the quarterfinals was a battle between Alexandrians, Lukas Bigger, and Will Harris. Bigger came out on top in the day’s closest match, 2-up.

The two others who made the semifinals are Nathaniel Adams, who breezed to a 5-3 win over Davis Johnson, and Ryan Conn, who had a bogey-free round to defeat Logan Hamak.

The final four will tee it up at 6:50 a.m. Saturday from No. 1, weather permitting.

From the start, Wilson gave very few openings to Galvin to take advantage of. Wilson won No. 1 with a birdie, matched Galvin’s pars on the next two holes, and birdied No. 4 to go 2-up. Galvin got his first hole win on No. 5 to cut the lead, but his birdie only matched Wilson’s birdie on No. 6, and Wilson picked up another win with a birdie on No. 7 to go 2-up.

Both golfers parred No. 8, and Wilson delivered another clutch par on No. 9 to go 3-up at the turn.

Wilson’s birdie barrage continued on the back when he birdied No. 11 and 12. Galvin was able to match Wilson’s birdie on No. 12 to stay four holes back. From there, Wilson played steady golf, making par on the next four holes.

Galvin’s birdie on No. 15 cut Wilson’s lead to three, but it was his last hurrah. The match ended with pars on the next hole.

Wilson had just one bogey in the match that was offset by six birdies. After 16 holes, he was 5-under par.

Galvin is no slouch. He was the winner and medalist of the 2022 Birchmont Tournament and a runner-up in the 2020 Resorters. He has never missed qualifying for the championship flight.

Wilson, who played for the University of Kansas and Charleston Southern, is playing in his 11th Resorters. Other accomplishments – 2017 U.S. Amateur participant, 2017 MGA Players championship winner, an automatic qualifier for all MGA Major events, winner of two mini-tour events before getting his amateur status back in 2021, 2017 Big South All-Conference Team and a participant in the 2023 Barstool Classic National Championship.

Wilson was also a third-place finisher in the Resorters 2022 long drive contest. He’s part of the Woodhull group. And he’s known or played against Jerry Rose for years.

Conn def. Hamak, 3-2

Conn, the No. 12 seed, was sizzling from the start. He birdied No. 1, followed it up with four straight pars, and added three more birdies on the front nine, Nos. 6, 7 and 9. Hamak, the No. 4 seed, also played very well – knocking down two pars on the front, Nos. 2 and 6, and made par on the seven other holes on the front but still trailed by two at the turn.

Conn didn’t cool off on the back. He parred Nos. 10 and 11, which were matched by Hamak, birdied No. 12, which was also matched by Hamak, and birdied No. 14 to go 3-up. Both golfers shot nothing but pars the rest of the way, giving Conn a 3-2 win.

On the day, Conn was 6-under par when the match ended on No. 16 and Hamak was 3-under. There were no bogeys.

Conn, 40, is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He’s playing in his sixth Resorters. He’s a twotime semi-finalist in the Resorters Men’s Division (2204 and 2022), is a two-time runner-up in the MGA Players Championship (2020 and 2022), was top 10 in the MGA Players Points, a 2022 USGA Four-Ball participant, champion of the Leo Spooner

By Al Edenloff Alexandria Echo Press

The Men’s Senior Championship division yielded another stunner in Friday’s semifinals at the 102nd Resorters Tournament.

Jon Freeman, the No. 12 seed, pulled off an upset over the No. 1 seed, Mark Aldrich. It was a battle of former Resorters champions – Freeman won the Men’s Executive title in 2010, and Aldrich won the Men’s Championship Division in 1992.

In the other semifinal match, the No. 23 seed Daniel Ystebo continues to impress. He defeated Larry Montplaisir, the No. 14 seed, 6-4.

This sets the stage for the championship match between Freeman and Ystebo. They’re set to tee it up, weather permitting, at 12:45 p.m. from No. 1. The Men’s Masters’ finalists will join them in the foursome.

Freeman def. Aldrich, 5-4

Freeman jumped out to the first lead with a birdie on No. 2. After halving No. 3 with pars, Aldrich had to settle for a bogey on No. 4, which gave the hole to Freeman. Freeman ended the rest of the front nine in style, hitting pars on Nos. 5 and 7, and notching birdies on Nos. 6 and 8. Aldrich, however, hung tough, only losing one of those holes, No. 6, until a double-bogey on No. 9 put him four down at the turn.

Aldrich ran into bogey trouble again on the 10th hole, and Freeman took advantage with a par to go 5-up. On the par-4 No. 11, Aldrich showed how he won medalist honors –making an eagle to steal the hole from Freeman, who birdied it.

The feat was too little, too late, however. Both golfers birdied No. 12. Freeman won No. 13 with par and matched Aldrich’s birdie on No. 14 to close out the match, 5-4.

Freeman had a great day on the course. He was 5-under par after 14 holes. Aldrich also played well and stood at even-par, but it wasn’t enough to stop Freeman.

Ystebo def. Montplaisir, 6-4

Ystebo, who is playing in his first Resorters tournament, never trailed against Montplaisir.

He took the first lead with a birdie on No. 3 and added a par win on No. to go 2-up. Montplaisir drilled a birdie on the next hole but Ystebo won Nos. 7 and 8 with pars to go 3-up. Yste- bo made about the only mistake he had all day –a double-bogey on No. 9 –, and Montplaisir took advantage with a birdie to draw within two at the turn.

Ystebo won Nos. 10 and 11 with two more pars and coasted the rest of the way for a 6-4 victory.

As a newcomer to the tournament, Resorters fans might not know much about the 62-year-old Ystebo, but he’s won some accolades. In 2017 and 2019, he was the Pine to Palm Senior champion in Detroit Lakes. He was also the North Dakota match play champion in 2017 and played in the 2022 USGA Senior Amateur Qualifier.