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Men’s Execs will try to derail Johnson’s run

from Resorters - Wed, Aug 4, 2021

by Echo Press

from Resorters - Wed, Aug 4, 2021, page 15

Article from: Resorters - Wed, Aug 4, 2021

Top 16 set in Men’s Regular 1s...

By Eric Morken

Alexandria Echo Press

Maple Grove’s Troy Johnson had his spot secured as the No. 2 seed in the Men’s Executive Division after winning the 2020 tournament. Now the rest of the field knows what the path looks like to try to knock off the threetime defending division champion.

There are multiple good players in this division again as Bryan Hoops, Joeseph Sauer and Dan Johnson all shot 1-under par 71s on Monday morning. Hoops, who lives in Tempe, Arizona and plays amateur tournaments nationally and internationally, got the No. 1 seed and will take on 32nd-seeded Matt Fischer in his opening match on Wednesday afternoon. Fischer was the final qualifier for the championship flight after shooting an 85 on Monday.

Hoops’ round was highlighted by a sharp back nine where he shot 3-under. He birdied Nos. 10, 12 and 14 to help alleviate the damage of a couple bogeys on the front.

“I didn’t play that great,” Hoops said. “I have some short game and some chipping things to iron out around the greens. The grass is a little different than what I’ve been playing through the last few tournaments, so I just have to get used to it and spend a little time on it. Other than that, it should get better.”

Hoops grew up in Long Prairie, but has lived in Arizona since 1989. This is just his second time playing in the Resorters. He qualified for the championship flight a year ago in the Men’s Division, but fell short of his ultimate goal of winning a title.

Hoops has never played Troy Johnson before. He’s confident though that his game will be at the right place to compete for a championship in the Executive Division as the week goes on.

“I don’t come here for the fun of it. I do come here to hang out with family and see friends from back in the area, but I do come up to win,” Hoops said. “I intend to win. I played last weekend in a mid-amateur team championship out in Kansas City, Missouri. I played well there. Won the individual title. Our team was second, so it’s been decent. I’ve been playing pretty well right now, so I’ll iron out a few things in the morning. I’m pretty sure I should hopefully play well to at least get deep into the rounds.”

The best of the rest Sauer, the third seed who will face Troy Flannery in match play, had a similar scorecard to Hoops as he bogeyed Nos. 3 and 16 around birdies at 6, 12 and 15. Dan Johnson had five birdies on the day at 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12 during his 1-under round.

Patrick Sieve is the fifth seed in the championship flight after getting off to a fast start to his qualifying round. Sieve shot 2-under on the front with birdies on Nos. 4 and 9. He had three bogeys on the back, but a birdie on the par-3 17th helped him finish his day at even par.

Chad Bisson, Mike Williams and Andrew Petersen all shot 74s to position themselves among the top 10 seeds. Bisson had birdies on holes 1 and 12. Williams birdied Nos. 6, 14, 16 and 17, and Petersen’s round was highlighted by birdies at 3, 6, 8 and 12.

Four-time Men’s Executive champion Daryl Schomer of St. Cloud was one of four guys to shoot a 4-over par 76. Nick Paulsen, Chad Johnson and Jeffry Cota matched that to secure their spot in the championship flight.

The top 32 players in the division had a day to relax before starting the match-play portion of the tournament on Wednesday at 1:20 p.m. from the 10th tee.

MEN’S EXECUTIVE CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT QUALIFIERS — Bryan Hoops71;

Johnson - champion, second

Joeseph R.

- 71; Dan Johnson - 71; Patrick Sieve - 72; Chad Bisson - 74; Mike Williams - 74; Andrew Petersen - 74; Nick Paulsen - 76; Chad Johnson - 76; Jeffry Cota - 76; Daryl Schomer - 76; Eric Heimsness - 77; Craig Crosby - 77; Chad Marlow - 78; Herbie Champlin - 78; Troy Nygaard - 78; Jon Cullen - 78; Tom Heimerman - 79; Joel Harris - 80; Aaron Buchholz - 80; Jim Kuhn - 81; Breton Stout - 82; Pete Bright - 82; Chris Cattoor - 83; Dave Fingalsen - 83; Cory Larsen - 83; Anthony Petersen - 84; Matt Stennes - 84; Taylor Flannery - 84; Aaron VanderPlaats - 85; Matt Fischer - 85 WEDNESDAY MEN’S EXECUTIVE PAIRINGS — 10TH TEE