Kellan Jacobson storms to finish line to become youngest winner of Medalist Tournament

Kellan Jacobson closed with a birdie flurry to become the youngest winner in one of the state’s oldest tournaments.

Jacobson, 16, shot rounds of 74-71 to win the 94th Annual Medalist Tournament held this weekend at Koshkonong Mounds Country Club.

“It was awesome (to hold up that trophy),” Jacobson said. “I’ve been working toward this like my whole life. I’ve seen all the people above me get their name on that trophy and it’s been a dream of mine to get my name on there someday too.”

Jacobson’s two-round total of 3 over 145 left him five strokes clear of runner-up Nathan Schroeder (75-75 150). With a handful of holes to play, the margin was much different.

The two primary combatants down the stretch, who are friends and co-workers at KMCC, were not paired together in the final round. With nine holes to play, Schroeder trailed by two strokes with the other first-round leaders having faded, effectively turning the event into a two-horse race.

A Schroeder birdie at the par-3 10th coupled with Jacobson’s double bogey at the par-4 12th gave the former a one-stroke edge.

The final six holes, however, belonged to Jacobson, who bounced back from a bogey 5 at the par-4 14th, to make three straight birdies — on the par-4 16th and 17th holes and par-5 18th — to win with ample room to spare. Schroeder, a sophomore golfer at UW-Parkside, played holes 14-16 in four over to fall back.

Jacobson led the field in par breakers for the event, carding 10 birdies. He was 4 over through seven holes in Saturday’s first round but took advantage of the downwind par-4 eighth and ninth holes to record birdies. He knocked a wedge stiff at No. 8, then made a sizable putt at No. 9 from treacherous territory above the hole.

Jacobson shot matching nines of 37 (his back nine included a two-putt birdie at No. 15, a 5-footer for birdie at No. 17 followed by another circle on his card at No. 18) and entered Sunday a stroke behind AJ Lechman. All told, there were nine players separated by just four strokes at the midway point of the tournament.

Jacobson birdied both the front-nine par 3s — hole 4 and hole 6 — to make the turn in even-par 35 in the final round.

“On hole 4, there was no wind and I hit 5 iron just right of the pin,” Jacobson said. “The ball trickled down like it always does and then I made a 20-footer coming back.

“(Director of Golf) Mason Kent loves moving the tees around. On hole 6, he moved the tees all the way over on the 13th tee box. On top of that, the pin was tucked behind the bunker in a tough spot. I was feeling good, so I went right at it. I pulled it a little and ended up in the left rough, but chipped in my second shot.”

Jacobson produced a closing three-hole stretch he won’t soon forget, punctuating the proceedings with a huge fist pump.

“I took a deep breath on 16 tee and told myself I could do this,” Jacobson said. “After that, I hit my second shot to six inches and told myself I really could do this.

“On 17, I hit a good drive and then hit a tough wedge shot to 10 feet. Hole 18 was playing a little into the wind. My drive was a toe ball into the left rough, but I knew I still had to go for it. I ripped a 4 iron and ended up right in the rough near the green. I hit an ok chip to 20 feet, stepped up to it and made the putt.”

Jacobson was proud of his bounce-back ability, pointing to his final-round prowess off the tee and overall steady short game and wedge plays as keys to coming out on top.

“I didn’t let big mistakes ruin my round,” Jacobson said. “In the final round on hole 12, I made a bad six, but I didn’t let that mess up my round. I parred 13 and turned it around.”

Jacobson, who is two weeks shy of his 17th birthday, shot 79-83 in his first Medalist appearance last season, finishing two strokes outside the cutoff for one of the 16 spots in the Championship Flight.

“I was definitely thinking about last year’s results a little before the tournament started,” Jacobson said. “It was kind of a bitter feeling to be the first one on the outside looking in.”

Jacobson, a senior at Fort High School, was a key cog in the school’s team berth in the State Boys Golf Tournament earlier in the month. He points to the sectional tournament held in late May as a turning point in his season, one that will continue with a handful more tournaments including the Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin College Showcase event held on the Irish Course at Whistling Straits July 7-8.

“Ever since sectionals, I’ve been playing the best golf of my life,” Jacobson said. “It has carried on through now, which has just been awesome.”

Matt Masterson (77-74 151), Lechman (73-81 154) and Luke Tessman (76-78 154) rounded out the top five while Jason Griedl (76-79 155), Pat Miller (76-79 155) and Kevin Roberts (74-81 155) all shared sixth.

The 16-player Championship Flight of the City Match Play Tournament gets underway in the days ahead, with Sean Halverson defending his title from 2023.

STROM WINS SENIOR MEDALIST

In the Senior Medalist Tournament, Pete Strom won his second title in three seasons, shooting rounds of 72-74 to win by six strokes over Dave Mack (75-77).

Strom, a nine-time Open Division champion, made one birdie in each round while recording a total of 29 pars.

Dennis Tessman (77-76) and Scott Housley (74-79) tied for third while Jeff Rossing took fifth (75-79).

Tessman is the reigning Senior Championship Flight match play winner.

OPEN DIVISION MEDALIST TOURNAMENT

Kellan Jacobson 74-71 145; Nathan Schroeder 75-75 150; Matt Masterson 77-74 151; AJ Lechman 73-81 154; Luke Tessman 76-78 154; Jason Griedl 76-79 155; Pat Miller 76-79 155; Kevin Roberts 74-81 155; Aaron Burke 75-82 157; Jack Kammer 80-80 160; Brayden Brown 83-79 162; Mitch Strom 80-82 162; Nick Tanin 85-82 167; Ethan Brown 84-84 168; Matt Romens 82-89 171; Brandon Housley 86-87 173; Brian Kammer 87-86 173; Liam McKelvey 87-86 173; Luke Ellingson 87-87 174; Eric Wixom 87-88 175; Shaughn Kennedy 89-89 178; Miles Johns 91-97 188; Alex Wirth 97-92 189; Luke Murphy 97-94 191; James Vandermause 99-97 196; Jason Schultz 99-97 196; Alex Lechman 96-101 197; Mike McKelvey 103-102 205; Seth Draeger 97-110 207.

SENIOR MEDALIST TOURNAMENT

Pete Strom 72-74 146; Dave Mack 75-77 152; Dennis Tessman 77-76 153; Scott Housley 74-79 153; Jeff Rossing 75-79 154; Bill Bare 78-79 157; Ken Applegate 78-80 158; Ron Vogel 76-83 159; Jim Herbst 77-85 162; Mike Lechman 83-85 168; Jeff Bark 82-87 169; Kevin Hulen 91-83 174; Herb Kimpel 90-85 175; Michael Martorano 95-100 195.