THE BIRCHMONT: Missy Tabery hangs on for big upset in round of 16 as match play kicks off

Jul. 28—BEMIDJI — In match play, competitors don't always have to play 18 holes.

For example, if one golfer is up two holes with one to go, that's it — the match ends. But on rare occasions, the two participants are knotted up after 18 and require extra golf to settle the match.

That's just what happened in Wednesday's women's division of the Birchmont Golf Tournament at the Bemidji Town and Country Club.

No. 14 seed Missy Tabery gave No. 3 seed and last year's runner-up Morgan Hetletved all she could handle in regulation, forcing an extra hole. Tabery took that opportunity and ran with it, sinking a putt on No. 1 to seal the match and advance to Thursday's quarterfinals.

"I am so excited," said Tabery, who hails from Lake Park. "(I played poorly in qualifying, but) I got kind of a good draw. I like my chances if I can get the mojo (going). I am the oldest by a lot. But I still can play, so I'm going to try to bring my A-game tomorrow and we'll see what happens."

That mojo Tabery talks about dates back to 10 years ago, when she was the 2012 champion of the women's division at the Birchmont. Much has changed since then. Tabery even had to take some time away from the game due to injury.

"I took a four-year hiatus," said Tabery, who last competed at the Birchmont in 2018. "Otherwise, I've been playing since probably like 2000. I've played a lot of them, but then I had a bad knee and took some time off. But I miss it up here. It's a blast."

Tabery led for most of the way on Wednesday and was 3-up through 12 holes, but Hetletved won holes 13 through 15 to knot up the match. The two golfers tied holes 16 through 18, setting up the playoff.

"I played great the first nine," Tabery said. "I literally almost eagled (No. 1). It was right on the lip. But in match play, you get swinging a little different when you're 3-up with five or six to go, and I saw it slipping away. But (it feels good to win)."

Tabery's winning putt on the extra hole was especially liberating after she missed a makeable par putt on No. 18 that would have secured her the match in regulation.

"My putting was pathetic (on that hole)," Tabery said. "I knew (the green) broke, but I just didn't hit it. And then I missed a little one."

All's well that ends well, though, and despite the three-putt on 18, Tabery has plenty to celebrate — she's moving on in the bracket and playing well at the right time.

In the quarterfinals, Tabery will meet sixth-seeded Jaya Grube, who defeated Haily Abel 2-and-1. Top seed Emily Israelson won 5-and-4 to advance, and she will face Ava Olson, who advanced with a 2-and-1 victory.

Anna Tollette and Carrie Lundgren will also match up in the quarterfinals after each won 2-and-1. Second-seeded Abbie Kelm won 6-and-5 to advance and will face Avery Bartels, who beat Elizabeth Meschke 4-and-3.

It was a good day to be an underdog in the men's division.

Several lower seeds in the bracket of 32 golfers made it through the first day of match play, the highest of which was 27th-seeded Ethan Olson. Olson upset sixth-seeded Chad Skarperud 3-and-2 to advance to the round of 16.

Other lower-seeded winners included No. 24 Matthew Gregg (21 holes), No. 23 Carson Skarperud (3-and-2), No. 19 Brennan Hockman (5-and-3) and No. 17 Justin Johnson (1-up).

The

top five seeds

— Joshua Galvin (5-and-3), Ian Simonich (7-and-6), Nate Deziel (6-and-4), Josh Bergrud (8-and-7) and Brandon McGarry (1-up) — all advanced, as did No. 7 Adam Van Raden (2-and-1), No. 8 Jay Gregory (3-and-2) and No. 11 Nate Adams (4-and-2).

Rounding out the winners were Seth Badolato (2-and-1), Beck Erholtz (2-and-1) and Nick Schaefer (2-and-1).

The upsets continued in the men's executive division, with 15th-seeded Jeff Thompson of St. Louis Park outmatching No. 2 Ekren Miller of Bemidji 3-and-2.

No. 13 Andrew Vaaler also beat Derek Hasselberg in 20 holes; No. 11 Chris Hennum won 4-and-2; No. 10 Scott Stueber of Thief River Falls won 2-up; and No. 9 Scott Woods of Wadena advanced with a 1-up victory.

Third-seeded Mark Ewing advanced with a 6-and-5 triumph, while No. 5 Mark Hylden defeated Bemidji's

Scott Fogelson

4-and-2. Top-seeded Troy Johnson of Maple Grove narrowly avoided an upset with a win in 20 holes to keep his repeat championship hopes alive.

Nearly every favorite advanced in the men's senior division, with a lone exception. That was 11th-seeded Curt Howard from Bristow, Okla., who upset Detroit Lakes' Aaron Burnside 7-and-6. Howard will next face No. 3 Scott Hinners, who advanced with a 2-and-1 victory.

Elsewhere in the bracket, Dale Finck (1-up) and Rick Passolt (5-and-4) are through to face each other in the quarterfinals. Bemidji pair Paul Daman (4-and-3) and Jeff Wiltse (2-up) will match up, and top-seeded Mark Lindberg (2-and-1) will face David Adams, who won in 19 holes.

A Bemidjian and an Arizonan were the only people standing in the way of the masters division going chalk on Wednesday. Bemidji's Bob Paine, the No. 14 seed, defeated Paul Hanson of Chandler, Ariz., 2-and-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Another Arizonan, No. 10 seed Jack Seiberlich of Gold Canyon, Ariz., beat Bruce Pederson of Palm Springs, Calif., 2-and-1 to make the final eight.

Paine will match up with Bill Thoreson of East Grand Forks, who won 6-and-5, while Seiberlich will meet second-seeded Douglas Taylor, who was victorious after finishing 2-up.

In the top half of the bracket, top-seeded Jeff Tweeton of Perham advanced with a 3-and-1 win and will face Michael Sansom, who finished 1-up. No. 4 Steve Herzog of Alexandria won 6-and-5 and will match up with No. 5 Wayne Caughey, who won his match in 19 holes.

Top-seeded Carter White advanced to Friday's semifinals in the junior 13-17 bracket with a 2-up win over Preston Miller. White will face Masen Nowacki, who beat Bemidji High School's Carter Fish in 19 holes.

No. 2 seed and fellow Lumberjack Eli Tuomala advanced to the junior 13-17 semis with a 7-and-6 win over Alden Johnson. He will face Apple Valley's Jack Hanson, who defeated Ethan Finseth 5-and-4.

For Wednesday's complete results, plus Thursday's tee times and brackets, visit thebirchmont.com.

* Monday: Qualifying rounds for the men's, men's senior, men's executive and junior divisions.

* Tuesday: Qualifying rounds for the women's and masters divisions; second round of qualifying for men's, men's senior and men's executive divisions; match play begins for junior 10-12 division.

* Wednesday: Match play begins for all championship divisions. (Men's letter flights, men's executive regular and junior 10-12 divisions do not play.)

* Thursday: Match play continues for all championship divisions. (Senior regular, masters regular and junior flights do not play.)

* Friday: Match play continues for all divisions. (Women's regular flights do not play.)

* Saturday: Match play finals for all divisions.