DETROIT LAKES – Pine to Palm golfers were bundled up in layers of clothing as the opening round of play was accompanied by fall-like weather and occasional fog that made miserable conditions worse on Thursday, Aug. 8.

Competitors in the Mid-Am, Senior, Super Senior and Championship divisions seemed unaffected by the drastic change in weather and focused on staying alive in their respective championship flights. There were several surprises throughout the day as medalists dropped out and former champions were pushed to the brink.

Mid-Am Division No. 1 seed Joe Schornack of Isanti, Minnesota, had a scary moment in his match against Sartell’s No. 16 Brock Swanson. Schornack, who returns as the 2023 champion, saw his lead dwindle from 2 to 1 as their round went into the final three holes.

Swanson moved on after a par on the 16th hole, putting pressure on Schornack. The duo were tied on the 17th hole, but Schornack took the win with a birdie on the 18th hole, forcing a playoff. Schornack needed one hole to defeat Swanson and stay out of the consolation round.

There were a number of upsets in the Mid-Am division. 2024 medalist and No. 2 seed Jeffrey Bernstrom fell to No. 15 seed and Owattana, Minn., Nick Vincelli 4-and-3. No. 14 seed Matthew Parker of Fargo sent No. 3 seed James Ford of Prior Lake to the consolation bracket after a close 1-up win.

No. 4 seed Jason Justesen of Detroit Lakes fell 1-0 to No. 13 seed Aaron Tait of Detroit Lakes. No. 11 seed Scott Uithoven of Belden, Mississippi, overcame a two-point deficit against Hawley’s and No. 6 seed Ted Cox to win 1-0. 2023, 2021 and 2019 runner-up Jake Witham, the 10th seed from Roseville, advanced after a 2-1 win over No. 7 seed Erik Wiess of Moohead.

Things didn’t go as planned for the lower seeds in the Senior Division. There were plenty of upsets, including Kevin Swenson of Fergus Falls, this year’s medalist, who lost 1-up to No. 31 seed Bill Schommer of Lakeville. Schommer was up 2-up after six holes, but Swenson fought back to take a 1-up lead after a par on the 13th hole. Schommer tied the match on the next hole and secured the win after a par on the 17th hole.

No. 3 seed Trent Wilcox of Park Rapids had his hopes dashed when No. 30 seed Mark Norman of Chesterfield, Missouri, secured a narrow 1-up victory. No. 4 seed Steve Randall of Lawrence Kansas lost 1-up to No. 29 seed Paul Uithoven of Bozeman, Montana.

The field of 32 competitors was whittled down to 16 when the first meeting between Ecklund and Kent Fronk of Jamestown, North Dakota (number 17) began at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, August 9.

If you were betting on the Super Senior Division, you would have made a big profit by backing the favourites with a multiple bet. There were just a few surprises as the matches favoured the weaker seeds.

2023 Detroit Lakes champion Mike Herzog kept his chances of defending his title alive with a 3-1 victory over 16th seed Dick McConn of Virginia, Mclean. Herzog stayed ahead after McConn tied on the second hole.

One of the two upsets was No. 10 seed Michael Seeyle of Detroit Lakes defeating No. 7 seed Mark Ericksen of Loveland, Colorado, 4-and-3. Seeyle will face 2024 medalist and No. 2 seed Steve Herzog of Alexandria, who defeated No. 15 seed Rick Samson of Fargo, 2-and-1.

No. 9 seed Dan Elton of Goodyear, Arizona, secured his place in the quarterfinals with a 3-and-2 win over No. 8 seed Craig Palmer of Fargo.

The Super Senior Division starts on Friday, August 8th at 8:28 am.

A total of 64 golfers from the Championship Division set off on Thursday, hoping to be among the 32 golfers on Friday.

The biggest surprise was Bryan Hoops of Tempe, Arizona (#62) defeating Jack Holtz of Alexandria (#3) 2-1. Cole Hanson of Grand Forks (#4) also lost 1-0 as Carter Spalding of Woodbury (#61) won the match 1-0.

2023 runner-up Torger Ohe of Edina and the No. 11 seed has his eyes on the championship match after a 3-and-2 win over Marcus Belka of Perham. He will test his talents against No. 43 seed Joshuaa Robards of Adamstown Heights, NSW, Australia, who won his match against No. 22 seed Pat Deitz of Moorhead 3-and-2.

Defending 2023 champion Gavin Cronkhite began his winning streak with a 2-and-1 victory over No. 64 seed Stellan Orvick of Minneapolis. This year’s medalist Jake Skarperud, seeded No. 2, continued his strong play on the court, overtaking No. 63 seed Rusty Ford at 6-and-5.

The Championship Division will tee off all afternoon on Friday, August 8th.

For complete results and start times for Friday, August 9, visit

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