A new champ will emerge in Seniors

By Eric Morken emorken@echopress.com

There will be a new champion this year in the Senior Division.

Eighteenth-seeded Mike Johnson took down the defending champion in second-seeded Rick Vanyo. Now Johnson will have to go through another former Resorters champion in Mark Lindberg (a 2002 and 2003 Men’s Division winner) after Lindberg controlled his match for the second straight day.

Top-seeded JT Johnson and two-time title winner Chris Haugen will join those two in the quarterfinals, along with Mike Herzog, Mark Knutson, Mark Frie (1996 and 2000 Executive Champion) and Richard Frieburg.

Here is a look at how all of the quarterfinalists got here ahead of teeing off at 12:18 from the first tee box on Thursday.

JT Johnson def.

Abrahamson, 2-1

JT Johnson has found ways to win close matches through his first two rounds of match play.

Johnson beat AJ Kluver by a 2-1 final on Tuesday and won by that same score over 17th-seeded Tom Abrahamson on Wednesday.

Johnson got off to a fast start with a 3-up advantage after a birdie win on No. 6. Abrahamson took 8 with a par, but pars on holes 11 and 14 were enough for Johnson to stretch his lead out and ultimately secure his win.

Haugen def. Gardiner, 3-2

Alexandria’s Chris Haugen may have qualified as the 25th seed in the 32-player field, but those who follow this tournament closely know he’s a serious contender. Haugen has shown that again through the first two rounds after he beat Jon Freeman and now John Gardiner after taking his Wednesday match by a 3-2 final.

Haugen never trailed in the match as he shot 2-under through the front nine and took a 5-hole lead into the back. Gardiner got wins at 10 and 11, but the hole was too much to dig out of. Haugen birdied the par-5 12th to help him breathe a little easier down the stretch.

Mike Herzog def. White, 5-4 Mike Herzog was steady throughout his 14 holes on Wednesday and that’s what he needed to be as Michael White had a bit of an off day in a 5-4 win for Herzog.

Herzog won nine holes in the match. Eight of those came with pars around a birdie win at No. 8. White tried to counter after back-to-back losses on the first two holes as he evened things up with par wins at Nos. 3 and 4. It was still even after six, but Herzog won the next four holes to take full control of the match.

Knutson def. Roach, 4-3 Bob Roach played well on the back nine on Wednesday, but a slow start ultimately hurt him in a 4-3 win for Mark Knutson. Knutson won the first three holes with a birdie and two pars. He added another birdie win on No. 5. That 4-up lead is what he took to the turn. Both players were on their game once they reached the back. They each shot 2-under par through six holes, and Roach never could steal one as Knutson finished his round at 2-under through 15 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Mike Johnson def. Vanyo, 3-2

The defending champion Rick Vanyo shot a 40 on the front nine, and Mike Johnson made sure to take advantage of a few opportunities during that stretch.

Johnson won with pars on holes 4, 6 and 7 before his birdie win at No. 9 sent him to the back with a 3-hole cushion. Another par win at 14 gave Johnson his biggest lead of the day.

Vanyo put a little pressure on with a par win at 15, but Johnson’s par win at 16 secured the win by a 3-2 final.

Lindberg def. Pokorney, 6-4

Mark Lindberg has played like he’s ready to make a run at a third Resorters trophy this week.

Lindberg shot even par on the front in his match against Mark Pokorney on Wednesday. That allowed him to take a 3-up lead into the turn, and backto-back pars on Nos. 10 and 11 further created distance.

Both players birdied the par-5 12th, but a par win on 14 won the match for Lindberg as he secured the 6-4 victory.

Frie def. Montplaisir, 3-2

Mark Frie is no stranger to deep runs in the Resorters. He was the Men’s Executive champion in 1996 and 2000, and he made a run to the Senior finals in 2015. He lost that match in a 4-3 decision to A.J. Kluver, and he’s a couple wins away from getting another crack at his first Senior championship. Frie put away Larry Montplaisir in a 3-2 decision after a short burst on the back nine. Montplaisir pulled even with a par win at 10, but back-toback birdies for Frie gave him a 2-hole advantage that he never relinquished.

Another par win at 15 helped him put the match away with two holes to spare.

Frieburg def.

Wanous, 19 holes

The closest match of the division came from Richard Frieburg and Mark Wanous as the two went to 19 holes before Frieburg secured the win in a playoff.

It was a tale of two nines as Frieburg controlled the front, and Wanous controlled the back. Frieburg shot 35 on the front to take a 3-up lead. Wanous got them all back with a par win at 10 and birdie wins at 15 and 17 before the two parred 18 to go into extra holes.

12:18 P.M. - JT Johnson vs. Chris Haugen; Mike Herzog vs. Mark Knutson

12:27 - Mike Johnson vs. Mark Lindberg; Mark Frie vs. Richard Frieburg

Top left: Mike Johnson reads his putt on the first green in his Men’s Senior quarterfinal matchup against Rick Vanyo on Aug. 4, 2021. Johnson got the win over the defending champion in a 3-2 final to advance to the quarterfinals.Top right: Richard Frieburg chips from the left side of the first green on Aug. 4, 2021 in his Men’s Senior quarterfinal match against Mark Wanous. Frieburg won in 19 holes to secure his spot in the quarterfinals. Bottom left: John Gardiner (left) and Tom Abrahamson chat before their putts on the first green in the quarterfinal round of the Men’s Senior championship on Aug. 4, 2021. Bottom middle: Mark Knutson hits it out of the tree line on the left side of the first hole in his Men’s Senior quarterfinal match against Bob Roach on Aug. 4, 2021. Knutson won that match 4-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. Bottom right: Mike Herzog putts from the front of the first green on Aug. 4, 2021 in his Men’s Senior quarterfinal match against Michael White. Herzog was on his game in a 5-4 win over White.

Jared Rubado / Echo Press

Sauer def.

Flannery, 6-5

Third-seeded Joe Sauer birdied three holes on the back nine en route to beating Taylor Flannery and moving on to the round of 16.

Sauer’s three-underpar score of 33 on the back nine put him 5-up over the 30th-seeded Flannery. His lone blemish was a bogey on No. 3, but it wasn’t enough daylight for Flannery to make a comeback push. Sauer ended the match on No. 4 with a par.

Heimerman def. Crosby, 1-up

Tom Heimerman never trailed in his opening-round match against Craig Croby, but the lead was never breathable.

A couple of early pars from Heimerman put him in the driver’s seat before a bogey on No.17 cut his lead in half. Heimerman regained the two-hole advantage with a par on No. 1 before Crosby’s birdie on No. 2 cut into the deficit again. Crosby would square the match on No. 3 with a par before Heimerman took the lead back with a par on No. 5.

Heimerman’s only birdie of the day gave him a two-hole lead on No. 6 before a bogey cut the lead in half again. Both Crosby and Heimerman parred the final two holes, sending Heimerman to the next round

Bisson def.

Larsen, 4-3

Chad Bisson proved why he’s going to be a tough out in this tournament as the sixth seed in his match against 27th-seeded Cory Larsen.

Bisson made par on the first eight holes of the match to go up by five. Larsen had a threehole streak of pars early on, but couldn’t keep pace with Bisson.

Larsen chipped away at the deficit with a par on No. 18 and a birdie on No. 2. Trailing by three, he got another one back with a par on the third hole. But Bisson’s first birdie on No. 4 and his 11th par on No. 5 sealed the deal

Cota def.

Kuhn, 1-up

Jeffry Cota and Jim Kuhn had a tale of two halves on Wednesday.

Kuhn, the 22nd-seed, got out to a hot start by leading in eight of the nine holes to open the match on the back nine. Three straight pars and a par on No. 18 sent Kuhn to the turn 1-up.

Cota squared the match to start the back nine before taking his first lead with a par on No. 5. The lead doubled a hole later with another par before Kuhn got one back on No. 8. Needing to win the hole to keep the round alive, Kuhn’s par wasn’t enough to square the match on No. 9, sending Cota to the round of 16