Defending champ to battle medalist for all the marbles

Al Edenloff

Alexandria Echo Press

Medalist Skip Madsen will go head-tohead against defending champion Mike Golden for the Men’s Grand Masters trophy Saturday at the 102nd Resorters Tournament.

They both breezed to quick wins on Thursday over the other semifinalists, Clayton Pike and Gary Ekdahl.

Golden won last year’s title with a grueling 2-1 win over Dave Harris in the finals. It was his first Resorters title and a vindication of a tough loss he experienced in the 2021 finals against Jerry Gruidl. That match came down to the 18th green, where Golden missed a birdie putt, and Gruidl made his to win the championship, 1-up.

Golden def.

Ekdahl, 5-4

Golden didn’t waste time against Ekdahl, winning the first five holes with two pars, a bogey, and two more pars.

Ekdahl got his first win on No. 6 with a par but trailed by four. Golden won the Minnesota Green No. 7 with par but lost the next two holes when Ekdahl was able to make par.

Leading by three holes at the turn, Golden kept the pressure on, sinking a birdie on

No. 10 to go 4-up. They halved No. 11 with pars, and they both ran into difficulties on No. 12 and had to settle for double-bogeys.

Golden closed out the match with a bogey win on No. 13 and matched Ekdahl’s double-bogey on No. 14, which ended the match, 5-4.

Golden, 76, has competed in the Resorters for 30 years. A highlight of his golf game was winning the Grand Masters’ championship in 2022.

Madsen def.

Pike, 9-7

Madsen showed his medalist round was no fluke. He made par on every hole in his match against Clayton Pike, except for a bogey on No. 2.

It just wasn’t Pike’s day. He started the match with six straight bogeys and ran into trouble on the Minnesota Green No. 7 with a double-bogey. Pike did knock down a par on the No. 8 hole, but it didn’t dent Madsen’s big lead.

Leading by seven at the turn, Madsen wrapped up his victory with two more pars, No. 10 and 11.

Madsen, 74, is playing in his sixth Resorters. He’s a graduate of the University of North Dakota. He’s racked up many accolades in his golfing career and is now playing on The Farms Golf Club inter team club in Rancho Santa Fe, California, a year-round private club near San Diego.