The Minneapolis GolfWeek Amateur Tour (GWAT) kicked off its 2012 season at Deer Run Golf Club in Victoria, Minn., on Saturday, April 28th.  It was a great course, in great condition, with great weather leading up to the event.  Unfortunately, too many things must have been going right so one gave way.....the weather!

For the second year in a row, our first event of the year saw rain, sleet, wind and temperatures double digits below normal.  The high for the day of 51 degrees was occurred at 12:15 a.m., with the recorded low temperature of the day of 40 settling in around 1:33 p.m. - right in the middle of our round.  There was a quarter inch of rain and a trace of snow also recorded.

The event was filled with both new and returning players. Even though it was not the largest field for the event, there was still more than $500 paid out to players.

Champ Flight saw a neck-and-neck race between two returning players, JB Lundeen and Jason Rhoades.  Rhoades was tied with Lundeen or held the lead through the first six holes with a back-and-forth battle on the on the final three holes.  Lundeen took a one-stroke lead at the turn and held on to it through the 15th hole, where he gained another shot to lead by two.  Lundeen sealed the victory by gaining another shot on hole 17 and finished with a 6-over-par 78 in the extreme conditions.

B Flight saw a three-man race between returning members Larry Caldwell and Eric Holen, and new member Jerry Carlson.  The trio each held a piece of the lead throughout the front nine.  Caldwell notched a tournament-low 39 at the turn with Holen and Carlson each firing a solid 42.  Caldwell kept his steady pace, shooting a matching 39 on the back nine (78) and winning the flight by four strokes over Carlson (82) with Holen sliding into third place (87).

Unfortunately for Caldwell, but not from lack of effort, he was unable to avoid getting his picture taken holding a flag.  For those that do not know, taking a picture of Caldwell holding a flag unexpectedly became a tradition three quarters of the way through the 2011 season as there are photos from every evnt with Caldwell holding the flagstick as a true gentleman of the game.  Be sure to visit our Facebook page (mpls/st. paul golfweek amateur tour) throughout the year to see if we can keep this tradition alive - and hear to what extremes we might have to go to for this.

C Flight pitted returning member Dan Bentzlin against new members Dan Chapman and Tyler Metkowski.  Bentzlin thought he could flex his veteran muscles against the new guys but Chapman and Metkowski were not going to give in at their first Minneapolis GWAT event.  All three guys went back-and-forth to see who could out-do the other, while also taking advantage of the tour's triple bogey max rule.  Bentzlin took the lead at the turn shooting an impressive score of 46, with Metkowski and Chapman shooting a 51 and 52 respectively.  Metkowski's proven determination to never give up shined on the back nine as he improved over his front nine score by a whopping 9 strokes, finishing with a 42 on the back and a final score of 93, which was good enough for a runner-up finish.  Bentzlin, being the veteran, was only able to better his front nine score by 2 strokes, but his steady play was still enough to take first place with a final score of 90.

Watch for more information coming on Metkowski and why his determination on and off the course is such an inspiration to all of us on the Minneapolis GWAT.

Even though the weather left much to be desired, it was a great event, with great people, only adding to my desire of sharing it with as many people as possible.  If you are a every-day golfer looking for a formal, but fun and rewarding taste at competition, come check out the Minneapolis GWAT!

A special Thanks to Tom Abts, Bennett Lang, as well as the staff at Deer Run for allowing us to play at their course.

An extra special Thanks to Eric Holen and Dana Bolwerk for helping prior to, and at the event taking pictures, registration, and getting the word out on the Minneapolis GWAT.

Our next event is Saturday, May 19th at Stonebrooke GC in Shakopee, MN.  Deadline to register is Midnight, May 10th.