Big Result at 3rd Annual Miniest Mini Golf Open

(Left to Right) 4th – Matt Roalstad | 2nd – Tom Loftus | 1st – Mick Cullen | 3rd – Shawn Brown | 5th – Erick Haselius

The stage was set for greatness and it all came together on a Sunday morning/afternoon. With 8 qualifying scores of 53 or better, we saw the highest number of low scores on the course to date. The recently replaced turf and much-needed repairs didn’t hurt the cause but it was clear that the level of competition had gone up a notch. During the two rounds of the championship, there wasn’t a single round that was over par. While hole-in-ones continued to be rare and last year’s course record of 46 by Shawn Brown was not topped, we saw no rounds over par in the championship. In the end, we had a mini golf legend add to his legacy. After playing the course for the first time only days earlier, Mick Cullen turned in a 1st round of 50 and 2nd round of 48 to become the first non-Minnesotan to become the champ. Coming into the tournament, Mick needed to win first place outright to become the AMA season points winner and to finish ranked #1 in the country and he did it! This is the same year he set a world record of playing 4,941 mini golf holes in 24 hours.

Tom Loftus, Mr. Tee, completed the trifecta with another 2nd place finish with his lowest tournament scores in qualifying or championship to date. Despite a tough 2nd round, Shawn Brown had the low round of the day with a 47 and came in 3rd. Matt Roalstad showed why he has become known as one of the top Minnesota mini golfers with a strong 4th place finish despite a bad bounce on the castle on Hole #6. The top 5 is rounded out by 2020 champion Erik Haselius.

Overall, 43 people played over 85 rounds during qualifying. Last year there were 56 qualifying rounds

Full Recap at https://acoupleofputts.com/open/