Berry held a one shot lead heading into the last two holes, but Sorenson birdied the par three seventeenth hole after hitting his tee shot to about four feet. He almost won the tournament in regulation after hitting the flag on eighteen from a perfectly executed green-side bunker shot. Both players made par fours on the first playoff hole.

A pair of Troy Burne professionals (and Tapemark regulars), Dave Tentis and Brent Snyder, tied for third after shooting matching totals of 68-72-140 (-4). Here are the top 10 finishers (full leaderboard):

7 MInute Miles 2010 MN PGA Championship Photo Gallery

Dave Tentis, Brent Snyder and Jeff Sorenson are all tied for the lead at 68 (-4). Don Berry and Scott McDonald (Windsong Farm) are two back at 70 (-2). The full leaderboard can be found here.

The championship wraps up tomorrow. Spectators are welcome!

7 MInute Miles 2010 MN PGA Championship Photo Gallery

The Wilderness at Fortune Bay is such a great course (par three third hole pictured above). If you’ve never played it, you need to come up and visit ASAP…

The $750 entry fee includes two guaranteed rounds at Southview (plus a 3rd round if your team makes the Sunday cut), two tickets to the team drawing banquet on Wednesday, June 10, two tickets to the Saturday night dinner and a Pro-Am merchandise package.

The tournament makes charitable contributions in the form of general operating grants to five organizations: Arc Greater Twin Cities, Arc of Minnesota, Dakota Communities, ProAct, and the Learning Disabilities Program of Children’s Home Society and Family Services.

If you can, please support this event by playing, volunteering, buying a raffle ticket or making a donation.

The weather this spring in Minnesota has been record-setting (no measurable snow in March or April) and Wednesday was perfect. The format for the day was two-person match play scramble and I was paired with the head pro from Victory Links, Scott Roth. We were up against Mr. Heil and Steve Whillock, Director of Golf at Oak Marsh Golf Course in Oakdale.

Steve is preparing for the U.S. Senior Open qualifier at Mendakota in June and his game was on. He has a unique setup routine, but it really works – he crushed the ball straight down the fairway every time. Despite a strong start, Ed and Steve closed us out by the 15th hole. We had a great foursome, though, and had a very enjoyable morning.

Town and Country was in wonderful condition. The greens were fast, everything was green, flowers were blooming and construction of a new tee box on the 15th hole was proceeding nicely. I played T&C for the first time last year and thought it was a bit quirky. This year I decided I really like the uniqueness of the layout and absolutely love the history. The seventh and eighth holes still aren’t my favorite due to the closeness of Cretin Avenue, but all of the others are full of character and fun to play.

I talked to many people about the general state of the game right now and the consensus was downbeat. Courses are being sold for cents on the dollar, private clubs are dropping fees to attract and retain members and everyone is trying to make due with less. It seems like there will be a shakeout in the industry in the short-term, which will likely see several courses close for good.

Here is the official media day report from the PGA:

The Minnesota Section PGA held its annual Media Day April 28th at Town and Country Club in Saint Paul, MN. Twenty-two members of the media teed it up with twenty-two PGA Professionals in the Scramble format. The team representing Television/MGA took home the trophy for the second time in the history of the event by an 8-3 margin over the Print/Media. In the individual team competition Scott Seroka from KARE-11 TV partnered with Tim Brovold of Bunker Hills GC to shoot an 8-under par 64 to claim the top spot. Finishing one shot back at 7-under par 65 were Dan (The Common Man) Cole from KFAN Radio and his partner Bill Israelson from the Vintage at Staples. Special thanks to Town and Country Club and PGA Professional Ryan Rindels for hosting.

Be sure and check out the section calendar if you’d like to attend any of the great events conducted in the Minnesota section this season. One other plug – if you want to get better this year, sign up for a lesson with your local pro. It’s good for the game – in more ways than one…

You can also track daily progress on their live web cam.

The weather this week still looks good (upper 50s and sunny), but I think I’m probably done for the year. Time to get the skis ready!

Barring another warm-up, that’s probably it for me this season. Time to get the skis ready!

Things turned out fine, though, and I shot my usual 93 from the 6,668-yard blue tees (72.3/142). The highlight of the round for me was a birdie on the 410-yard, par four fifth hole. My drive was in the fairway, but left me with about 190 yards to the green, which is fronted by water. I hit one of my best four-iron shots ever, landing in the front third of the green. The 15 foot birdie putt curved right into the middle of the hole.

I wish winter would hold off a little longer – all of the courses I’ve played lately have great conditions now that could last another few weeks. Hard to play in 40 degree temps and snow showers, though.

Tim and I stayed for lunch in the wonderful Meadows Grille and watched the last ten minutes of the Vikings game (which was another story in itself). Thanks again, Tim!

7MM Meadows at Mystic Lake Photo Gallery