Tag: Minnehaha Country Club

Steve Stricker wins Sanford International for sixth PGA Tour Champions victory of season

The Ryder Cup vice captain opened the week with course-record 62.

K.J. Choi and Steve Stricker posted matching course-record 62s on Friday to open the 2023 Sanford International.

Stricker then went 66-66 over the weekend at Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to earn a one-stroke win, his sixth victory of the 2023 season and 17th overall on the PGA Tour Champions.

One of two Ryder Cup vice captains in the field (Jim Furyk is the other), Stricker had 16 birdies – including five in a row on the back nine during the first round – and two eagles over 54 holes. The eagles came on the 12th hole on Saturday and Sunday. He had only four bogeys on the week, including one the 18th Sunday, but a two-shot cushion before that hole assured him some wiggle room.

“There are a lot of guys up around the lead and it just became a two-man race there towards the end. It’s always a challenge. You’re fighting your game, you’re fighting your nerves, you’re just trying to get it done,” he said. “It’s so rewarding when you do, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of fun to come here and play and enjoy the area, enjoy the course. Couldn’t ask for a better week.”

Stricker picked up $300,000 for the win and in the process set the mark for most money earned in a season on the Champions tour with $3,956,127.

Bernhard Langer finished solo fourth, marking his seventh straight top-10 finish of the season, a streak that started when he won the U.S. Senior Open in July. He shot a final-round 64 and was 12 under for the week, four shots back of Stricker.

John Daly, meanwhile, had had his best finish in more than a year with a tie for eighth. Daly’s average finish this season is 65th and he has WD’d from two events. This week, he went 66-64-70.

Aces high

There were two holes-in-one during the first round. Fred Funk aced the 17th hole using a hybrid from 199 yards while John Senden got his on No. 8 with a pitching wedge from 132 yards. There was another ace on Sunday when Jerry Kelly got one on the 17th hole.

Shooting his age or better

Dick Mast, 72, got in the field after Monday qualifying and bettered his age with even-par 70 in the first round. He matched his age with a 72 in Saturday’s third round. He beat his age by a shot during Sunday’s final round and tied for 67th, beating nine golfers, including Jim Furyk and European Ryder Cup vice captain Jose Maria Olazabal.

John Daly posts best finish in 15 months on PGA Tour Champions at Sanford International

Welcome back, John Daly.

Welcome back, John Daly.

The big hitter and fan favorite had his best week of golf in more than a year at the 2023 Sanford International, breaking 70 for just the fourth and fifth time all season during the first and second rounds. He finished with an even-par 70 and a tie for eighth.

Daly’s previous best finish in 2023 was a tie for 38th in July at the Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club. Daly’s average finish this season is 65th and he has WD’d from two events.

This week, he opened 66-64 at Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He finished 10 under.

Prior to this week, he had just three rounds in the 60s in 30 rounds played. Daly’s last top-10 finish was a tie for eighth at the American Family Insurance Championship in June of 2022. He withdrew from the Sanford in 2022.

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Golfweek’s Best 2022: Top public and private courses in South Dakota

Golfweek’s course-rating program shines a light on the top golf courses in South Dakota.

South Dakota doesn’t have a large population: fewer than 900,000 residents. That doesn’t mean there isn’t solid golf to played there, and Golfweek’s Best shines a light on the top tracks in the Mount Rushmore State.

Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with that of top public-access courses in each state among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.

Also popular are the Golfweek’s Best rankings of top private courses in each state, and that list for South Dakota’s private offerings is likewise included below.

MORE: Best Modern | Best Classic | Top 200 Resort | Top 200 Residential | Top 100 Best You Can Play

(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960
(c): Classic course, built before 1960

Note: If there is a number in the parenthesis with the m or c, that indicates where that course ranks among Golfweek’s Best top 200 modern or classic courses. 

Steve Stricker tops Robert Karlsson in a playoff at 2022 Sanford International on eve of Presidents Cup

The win is Stricker’s 10th on the PGA Tour Champions and third of the season.

Robert Karlsson opened with a 62 on Thursday, the best round of the week at Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Steve Stricker went 64-64 over the weekend. By late Sunday, the two found themselves tied at 14 under and locking horns in a playoff at the Sanford International.

Karlsson was tied for the lead at 10 under with Jeff Maggert after 36 holes and Sunday, after birdies on Nos. 16 and 17, had a chance to win in regulation with one more birdie but ended up with a par at the last.

Stricker, who won this event in 2018, shot his 17th straight round of par or better and his 12th straight such round at the Sanford on Sunday.

He made quick work of the playoff with a birdie on the first extra hole, the par-4 18th, for his 10th win, and third this season, on the PGA Tour Champions.

“It didn’t break as much in regulation because I was a little bit, I don’t know what happened there, it just kind of rode high. So I had a good feeling for the speed here in the playoff,” he said. “You’re trying to hit a good putt, it’s a tough putt to make, but fortunate that it went in. It was a cool feeling. To make a putt last hole in a playoff in front of all these people is pretty cool.”

Stricker can now turn his sights on Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Presidents Cup, where he will be an assistant captain starting Monday.

Fred Couples, also a 2022 assistant captain, closed his week in Sioux Falls by going backdoor on a closing birdie to shoot a final-round 72.

Couples joins Stricker, Zach Johnson and first-timer Webb Simpson as assistants alongside captain Davis Love III at the Presidents Cup. Couples tied for 38th.

Charles Schwab Cup points leader Steve Alker finished for tied for 58th after a final-round 76.

Colin Montgomerie withdrew from the Sanford before the start of the second round. John Daly withdrew during the second round.

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Darren Clarke wins Sanford International in playoff over Steve Flesch, K.J. Choi

Darren Clarke birdied the second playoff hole to win the Sanford International in in South Dakota.

SOUIX FALLS, S.D. — Steve Flesch had his chance to win the fourth edition of the Sanford International in regulation.

K.J. Choi had the win in front of him on the first playoff hole.

Both men missed their opportunities.

Darren Clarke, meanwhile, just kept hanging in there, and when he got his chance he didn’t miss.

Clarke, Flesch and Choi finished the three-day PGA Tour Champions event tied at 12 under, forcing a playoff on the 18th hole, where it took two tries for a winner to emerge. It was Clarke, whose long chip from the fringe stopped just feet from the cup, giving him a relatively easy birdie putt that secured the win and $270,000 in prize money.

Clarke had similar approaches on the 18th hole in regulation and on the first playoff, and he didn’t execute either very well. When given a third chance, he didn’t miss.

“The second time around I thought, I know the speed now, the ball just went right,” Clarke said. “The third time around I was just that stubborn that I was gonna prove to myself that I could hit it the right distance and I did. In a playoff you never know what can happen. Anybody can make birdie. Luckily it was my day today.”

Clark shot a 5-under 65 on Sunday to pull even with Flesch and Choi. Choi entered the day at 11 under, two strokes up on Paul Stankowski and Alex Cejka, both of whom quickly played themselves out of contention.

That allowed Clarke and Flesch to make their moves, which they did steadily amid a fierce wind that at times made birdies difficult. Choi came out steady and conservative, starting the day with 12 straight pars before notching his first birdie on 13.

On the par-5 16th, Clarke unleashed a monstrous drive that set him up for the late push that pulled him even. Still, he needed help to eventually hoist the trophy.

After Choi settled for par on 16, Flesch headed to the 18th tee box with a one-stroke lead at 13 under. But his tee shot left him behind a tree, and rather than cut his losses and knock the ball back into the fairway, he tried to wrap his second shot around the tree. Instead, he smacked right into it, knocking his ball backward. He needed a strong finish to the hole just to get a bogey, which allowed Clarke and Choi to advance to the playoff.

In the first playoff Choi was the only one to hit the green in regulation, and had a 12-footer for a birdie and the win. He missed, so he and Clarke advanced to a second playoff hole while Flesch was eliminated.

The wind was a factor all day, with gusts of up to 40-mph, but Clarke was able to use that to his advantage, something the Minnehaha course adheres to anyway.

“I think if you drive it well here you can score well,” Clarke said. “And the driver is probably my favorite club in the bag. So today I drove the ball well. I hit it long and I hit it straight and when I do that I have a chance to contend.

“(The wind) was tough, it was tricky, but you saw good scores yesterday and you saw good scores today,” he added. “The course was eminently playable, but if you were slightly off with your ballstriking you could play a big penalty with that wind.”

Miguel Angel Jimenez, last year’s winner, finished strong with a 66 to end up tied for fourth at 10 under with Rod Pampling. U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker finished 9 under, followed by John Senden, Steven Alker, Retief Goosen and Cejka, who all finished at 8 under.

Clarke said in addressing the fans after the win that the Sanford International is one of the most well-attended and supported events on the entire Champions tour.

“The fans have been very good to me,” Clarke said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time in Sioux Falls. The fans have been brilliant. I’ve had a beverage with one or two of them in the past, so it’s been nice to be back out here.”

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