The Minnesota State Open is the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

state open

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Minnesota section of the

PGA of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...

. It was first played in 1917 and has been played at a variety of courses around the state.

History

The first event was held on September 6, 1917. Twenty-four players played in the event. Professional golfer Tom Stevens, who played out of the

Minikahda Club The Minikahda Club is a private country club in southwest Minneapolis, Minnesota. The club is located just west of Bde Maka Ska and is the oldest country club west of the Mississippi River. The clubhouse, which is situated on a high hill, ov ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

, won the tournament by one stroke. In 1930, there was one of the more surprising victories. Edward Baening, a golf club salesman, "came out of nowhere" to win the event. During the mid-20th century, Joe Coria and Ade Simonson produced many highlights. In 1934, while still an amateur, Coria won for the first time. In 1940 he won for the second time, his first as a professional. In 1941, Coria and Simonson were the top contenders. Near the end of the tournament, Coria was the clubhouse leader though Simonson, still playing, was near the lead. On the 18th hole Simonson "plopped a shot 60 yards away out of a divot to within a foot of the cup" to assure a playoff with Coria. However, Coria defeated Simonson in the playoff. Coria won the tournament in 1952, his last victory. In 1959, Simonson had a chance to win. He had a four-shot lead going into the final round. However, Simonson made an 8 on the 10th hole of the final round which facilitated his loss to Bill Waryan. It was his seventh and final runner-up finish. Simonson never won the event. During this era, the tournament was held at a variety of courses around the state including Duluth, Mankato, Faribault, and Rochester. In 1980, the event started to be permanently held at Bunker Hills Golf Club in

Coon Rapids, Minnesota Coon Rapids is a northern suburb of Minneapolis, and is the largest city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 63,599 at the 2020 census, making it the fifteenth largest city in Minnesota and the seventh largest Twin Ci ...

. During this year the tournament also started to be sponsored by National Car. It was sponsored by National Car until 1997. During these years, it was known as the National Car Open or, colloquially, as "the Car." From 1998 to 2001, the tournament was sponsored by

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

. In 1998, the tournament was preceded by a series of events under the title "Minnesota Golf Week." The events included "a celebrity golf tournament, golf clinics, a junior, senior, and womens championship, entertainment and various fundraisers" followed by the tournament proper. Around the turn of the century, Australians with golf scholarships at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

have won the tournament. They include James McLean in 1998, Ben Meyers in 2001, and Yu Katayama in 2008. Since 2009, the event has alternated between Bunker Hills and a different course in the state.

Winners

Source: (a) denotes amateur ¹ Playoff win

References

External links

PGA of America – Minnesota section
Golf in Minnesota PGA of America sectional tournaments State Open golf tournaments Recurring sporting events established in 1917 1917 establishments in Minnesota {{Minnesota-sport-stub