A Hot 2023 M.C. Mini Masters Recap
Words by Mick Cullen
The 26th M.C. Mini Masters drew competitors from California, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and New Jersey, coming together to form the most competitive field in the tournament’s history. Among the players were five previous AMA tournament champions and two Holey Moley episode winners, along with a previous Mini Masters champion as well. This multi-state one-day event, as usual, consisted of 108 holes on 6 different courses.
The day began at Kenosha, Wisconsin’s family fun center America’s Action Territory with a strong showing by the AMA’s Tom Loftus. Loftus posted a 34 at Wisconsin Adventure, just one short of the course record, thanks to four aces. He stood four strokes clear of the field after round one. Rookie Griffin Weiss (age 12), the O-Street Winter Classic champion, then bested everyone else in the 42-player field with a round of 41 at Wild West. After two rounds, Loftus had a three-stroke lead on the field at -15, with three players tied at -12 and another pair at -11.
The group took a lunch break before heading to Congo River in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, for the third and fourth rounds. Griffin Weiss, the youngest of the four competitors from the Weiss family, rode a three-ace round to his second straight course trophy with a new course record of 36 at the Congo Rapids course. This pulled Griffin into the overall lead for the first time at -16, three strokes ahead of Tom Loftus and Kevin Weiss (-13), with another trio of players close behind at -12.
Second-year Mini Masters veteran Peter Wokwicz bested the field with a 38 at Congo Falls, winning in a tiebreaker over Rusty Silber. Griffin Weiss maintained his lead with an overall total of -14, one stroke ahead of Derek Hartmann (-13), with former Mini Masters champion R.J. Dusak sitting tied with both Kevin and Landon Weiss at -11.
As usual, the tournament concluded with 36 holes at Par-King Skill Golf in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Tommy Schweiss, riding a string of 7 straight top-10 Mini Masters finishes, pulled out the course victory at Par-King Black with a 37 as the leaderboard tightened up. Entering the final round, Griffin Weiss maintained his first-place spot at-14, but tournament director and 2022 AMA champion Mick Cullen’s 38 pulled him to within a stroke of the lead (-13), with Griffin’s brothers Kevin and Landon just two back (-12). Dusak (-11), Derek Hartmann (-9), Tommy Schweiss (-9), and rookie Ben Briselden (-8) also stood within striking distance entering the final round.
The biggest swing of the final 18 took place at the 8th hole of Par-King Red, where Cullen and Kevin Weiss each carded a 3 while Landon and Griffin Weiss posted fives, causing a three-way tie atop the leaderboard at -14. The standings remained tight thereafter, until Cullen and Kevin Weiss entered the final hole knotted at -14, with Hartmann carrying the same score after the completion of his round. After Kevin Weiss’s 3 on the pinball-style 18th hole, Cullen holed a 2 to clinch a one-stroke victory at -15. Hartmann and Kevin Weiss tied for second, a single stroke back (-14), with Griffin Weiss and Tommy Schweiss matching scores in 4th place (-13).
On the final leaderboard, just 7 strokes separated 1st place from 10th, and four rookies made the top ten, foreshadowing what will likely be some competitive fields in the coming years as well!
Trophy winners:
Rookie of the Year: Kevin Weiss (-14)
Champions Division winner: Mick Cullen (-15)
Open Division winner: Derek Hartmann (-14)
Junior Division winner: Griffin Weiss (-13)
Most Holes-in-one: Justin Gutche (10)
Spirit of the Game Award: Parker Wokwicz
Most Improved: Rachael Waldman (30 stroke improvement, +20)
Most Sixes: Ben Lee (25—a new Mini Masters record)
