Former Mayo High golfer earns top-5 finish at State Amateur Championship

Jul. 22—STILLWATER, Minn. — Isaac Ahn steadily got better as the 123rd Minnesota Golf Association State Amateur Championship went along this week at StoneBridge Golf Club.

And Ahn’s improvements were nearly enough to land him the top spot.

After opening the tournament with an even-par 72 on Monday, the former Rochester Mayo star shot a 1-under 71 on Tuesday to jump from 15th place to fifth.

That’s where Ahn finished the championship, after shooting a 2-under-par 70 in Wednesday’s final round, good for a 54-hole total of 3-under-par 213 and a tie for fifth place with second-round leader and former Cretin-Derham Hall star Sam Udovich.

Udovich, who’ll be a sophomore at Texas Christian University in the fall, opened the tournament with back-to-back rounds of 69 to sit at 6-under through 36 holes. He shot 3-over on the front on Wednesday and couldn’t find the birdies he needed down the stretch to climb back into title contention.

Bryce Hanstad, a 39-year-old, stormed back to win the championship, beating fellow Edina native Torger Ohe on the first playoff hole, after both finished 54 holes at 5-under-par. After qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship last summer, Hanstad has now earned an exemption into the prestigious U.S. Amateur Championship, set for Aug. 10-16 at Merion Golf Club, near Philadelphia.

Hanstad was tied with Ahn and four others at 1-under-par after two rounds, and he fired a 68 on Wednesday that included seven birdies to claim the championship with a 54-hole total of 5-under-par 211.

Ahn, who’ll be a sophomore at Harvard in the fall, made just two bogeys in the final round, after totaling eight bogeys over the first two days. He also recorded four birdies on Wednesday — two on the front nine and two on the back — while shooting 34 on the front and 34 on the back. The former two-time Class 3A All-State player and two-time Post Bulletin All-Area Golfer of the Year, is one of only seven golfers in the 156-player field at the State Am to shoot at least two sub-par rounds in the tournament. Ohe shot under par in all three rounds, going 71-69-71—211 to tie Hanstad after three rounds.

Jacques Wilson and first-round leader Tyler Seeling finished in a tie for third place at 4-under-par.

Rochester’s Nick Jarrett tied for 44th place (74-76-76—226).

Final Leaderboard