Buysse wins Wynston Boe tourney
In one of the most dramatic finishes ever in the Wynston Boe Memorial Golf Tournament, Alex "Butch" Buysse outlasted Charlie Seitzer by one stroke after each missed a par putt by inches on the final hole.
This was the first championship flight win in 10 tournaments for Buysse, 32, who placed eighth here last year. He is a 2008 Minneota High School graduate who now lives in St. Cloud.
"I actually started out here as a ball spotter for this tournament," Buysse recalled.
After shooting 35-35 over the first two rounds, Buysse held a four-stroke lead over both Seitzer and defending champion Ben Derynck entering the final nine holes.
Like a slow leak, Buysse's began to dwindle. When he hit an unplayable tee shot on No. 5 and settled for a double bogey, his lead was whittled down to just one shot over Seitzer and three over Derynck.
Derynck then parred No. 6 after a solid approach shot, while Buysse and Seitzer each shot bogey to tighten the threesome even more. Seitzer had a chance to tie for the lead, but was unable to drain a 10-foot putt for par.
Buysse then gave up the lead to Seitzer after his tee shot on No. 7 went into the rough and his second shot hit a tree branch. His third shot was well short of the green and he finished with a double bogey, tossing his ball into the nearby creek after retrieving it from the cup.
"I figured I needed to get rid of that ball," he said with a smile after the tournament.
Meanwhile, Seitzer made par to take a one-shot lead over Buysse and two over Derynck with two holes to play.
This time it was both Seitzer and Derynck's turn for a double bogey, while Buysse made par after missing an 18-foot attempt for birdie to regain the lead by one over Seitzer.
After everyone was on the ninth green, Derynck, Tyler Sachariason and Bryan Francis all putted out in order to let Seitzer and Buysse finish out their battle. Sachariason and Francis, who were also playing in the final group, tied for fourth with a 116, four shots behind Buysse.
Buysse left his approach 15 feet from the pin, while Seitzer was 10 feet away.
Buysse's putt headed straight for the cup, which would have secured the win. But it drifted slightly left over the last few inches and "lipped out", leaving Buysse to bend backwards in disbelief.
"I was already mentally preparing for a playoff," he admitted following the conclusion of the tournament.
Seitzer, who is from Dayton, MN, then needed to drain his putt to force an extra playoff hole, which would have also been on No. 9.
Seitzer had the correct read, but the putt fell a few inches short of the cup, giving Buysse the win.
"(Buysse's) putt actually helped me read the hole because his shot went right to left," Seitzer said. "I just didn't hit it firmly enough."
In a show of sportsmanship that not many others would display after losing a tournament like that, Seitzer immediately shook Buysse's hand, congratulated him and patted his back. When club manager Tony Esping announced the winners, Seitzer was again the first to offer congratulations to the winner.
"There's no use acting any other way because that wouldn't change the outcome," Seitzer said. "Of course, I wanted to win and it wasn't easy to lose that way, but there's nothing I can do about it now."
Buysse, a 2008 Minneota graduate, was especially pleased his mother, Val Buysse, who is batting cancer, could be on hand to see him win his first tournament title here.
"I appreciate her being here," he said. "I didn't know if the heat would get to her or how she was feeling, but I'm glad she was here."
Corey Skogrand won the President's Flight by one stroke over David Kockelman.
Other flight winners were: Cody Gossen, First Flight; Brock Citterman, Second Flight; Jason Gravley, Third Flight; Matt Myhre, Fourth Flight; Jerren Roberts, Fifth Flight; and Paul Reckoff, Senior Flight.
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
Alex Buysse35-35-42 - 112, Charlie Seitzer 39-35-39 - 113, Ben Derynck 37-37-40 - 114, Tyler Sachariason 38-39-39 - 116, Bryan Francis 40-37-39 - 116, Jake Wagner 43-36-38 - 117, Landon Frost 39-38-41 - 118, Cole Myhre 40-44-44 - 124, Zeb Prairie 41-44-41 - 126
PRESIDENT'S FLIGHT
Corey Skogrand 36-44-40 - 120, David Kockelman 39-40-42 - 121, Jeremy Gossen 39-41-42 - 122, Rick Gossen 39-41-42 - 122, Jason Schaffer 40-42-41 - 123, Jesse Dreger 40-38-45 - 123, Walker Hennen 42-42-40 - 124, Wayne Kompelien 41-41-42 - 124, Tom Reeves 41-45-39 - 125, Mike Hammer 45-38-43 - 126
FIRST FLIGHT
Cody Gossen 38-40-40 - 118, Neil DePestel 43-42-40 - 125, Mike Guimond 44-41-41 - 126, Trent Esping 43-41-43 - 127, Mike VonBokern 42-43-44 - 129, James Hook 46-39-47 - 132, Travis Obe 42-46-45 - 133, Mike Spanton 42-44-49 - 135, Greg Erlacher 45-47-43 - 135, David Hook 48-46-47 - 141
SECOND FLIGHT
Quarterfinals: David Kockelman def. Tony Ufkin, Trent Hennen def. Ashley Obe, Brock Citterman def. Scott Doyscher, Brian Obe def. Adam Josephson ... Semifinals: Hennen def. Kockelman, Citterman def. Obe .... Final: Citterman def. Hennen ... Consolation final: Obe def. Josephson
THIRD FLIGHT
(1) Jason Gravley (2) Tristan Sorensen ... Consolation: Greg Menks
FOURTH FLIGHT
(1) Matt Myhre (2) Dale Verschelde
FIFTH FLIGHT
(1) Jerren Roberts (2) Chad Bagley ... Consolation: Keith Baumgarn
SENIORS FLIGHT
(1) Paul Reckoff (2) Mike Buseth (3) Harlen Ulrich (4) Marlo Moon (5) Ron Labat (6) Butch Obe