Heisler wins

New Ulm

Invitational

Winner had been

runner-up three times

By JEREMY BEHNKE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- It wasn't the way he wanted to start the Final Nine pairings of the Championship Flight Sunday, but Woodbury's Dave Heisler will gladly take the end result.

Heisler led by two strokes heading into the final nine, but he bogied the 10th and 11th hole. He made up some ground after he birdied the 12th hole, but then bogied the 13 hole. However, in the course of his misfortunes, he somehow managed to gain an additional two strokes and held on to win his first New Ulm Invitational in five tries.

Heisler shot a 179, beating Brian Reagan, who shot a 183. Dan Howard, the defending champion, tied for third with a 184 along with Tim Duren. Dave Pilot rounded out the Top 5 with a 186.

Heisler has been the runner-up three times.

"[After] Three seconds, I finally came through to win one," Heisler said, tasting the fruits of his labor from his beer stein. "Especially after having a two-shot lead, it would have really been nerve wracking to do that again."

Heisler had a two-shot lead in 1998, but took second to Howard after losing in a playoff on the final round. Despite the history, he said he didn't feel any pressure about blowing the lead.

"It was too early, and the two guys I was playing with weren't really putting a whole lot of pressure on me just yet."

First flight

On the first flight, Ryan Friederich hung on to win his first championship after he finished with a two-day total of 149. Mankato's Pat Haefner took second by one stroke with a 155 and Andy Pettit took third with a 155.

Haefner led after one round with a 75, two strokes better than Friederich. Friederich concentrated on the second round and shot a 72.

"I wanted to try to make a lot of pars," Friederich said. "You know that everybody's going to get a couple of bogeys. I slipped in a few birdies, so that was my goal on each hole was to try and take par."

Friederich was hot from the beginning as he birdied the first hole and parred the next two holes. He then birdied the fourth hole.

"At that point I was already up a couple of shots, so I felt good at that point," he said. "I was putting well and things were just going well for me."

The win was his first championship in three tries.

"I just wanted to stay in the middle," Friederich said. "I was a couple back so I knew I had a chance. I know Pat and he's a very good player. But like I said, I just made a couple birdies early and it just kind of calmed me down."

Senior Championship

After shooting a 75 on the first day, Hilton Head, South Carolina's Jeff Garske won his third title when he finished with a 155, five strokes better than Ted Burchell and Patrick Gallivan (160). Pat Hart shot a 162 to finish fourth.

"It was kind of a tale of two different nines," Garske said. "The first nine I shot a 37. My swing was a little loose but I still ground it out. I got a lot of stuff up and down off the greens. The back nine I didn't get away with it."

Garske rebounded from a triple bogey on the 15th hole and held on for the win.

"It kind of took the wind out of my sails," he said. "It was kind of a struggle into the clubhouse. I managed to hold on. I knew I had a lead and played pretty conservatively. Fortunately I was smart enough to become stupid and forget about it. The next hole, I immediately got a par and got back into a little rhythm and kind of held on."

Second flight

On the second flight, Dave Van Dien shot a 164 and won on a playoff on the second hole over Dick Helmstetter. Van Dien made a nice comeback after he shot a 90 on the first day. The title was his second. Frank Schneider and Tim Reinke each finished third with a 165 and Greg Risbrudt shot a 166.

Third Flight

Tim Schultz finished first on the Third Flight as he won by nine strokes over Chuck Gerber and Bob Miller. Schultz shot a 165 while Gerber and Miller each finished with a 174. Bob Skillings took fourth with a 177 and Jim Beyl took fifth with a 178.

Fourth Flight

On the Fourth Flight, Rob Cherney shot a 77 in the second round and won by seven strokes. He finished with a 170. Pete Eichten and Rick Belde each shot a 177 to tie for second and Rick Schnobrich shot a 179. Brian Cherney shot a 182 to take fifth.

Fifth Flight

On Flight Five, another first-time winner emerged as Rodney Zimmer shot a 135. He shot a 69 on the first day and a 66 on the second.

Larry Resner shot a 140 and Mike Spahn shot a 141. Billy Leitner took fourth with a 143 and Chad Schmidt took fifth with a 144.

Zimmer said there was a bit of pressure put on him by a friend of his but seemed to have a lot of fun with the event.

"Brad Wieland, a buddy of mine, he said I was going to choke," Zimmer said. "I showed him though," Zimmer joked. He also played a very focused second round.

"Just concentrate and pay attention to my every shot," he said.

Senior Flight

On the Senior Flight, St. Paul's Mike Maloney won his first championship after 20 tries.

"I've been tied or a stroke back or two, but I've never brought it home," Maloney said. Maloney joked that he didn't feel nervous about being in the lead.

"I'm too old to be nervous," he said. "I had some pressure. It was close out there for a long time. But it was slow today and no breeze and that hot [weather] just wore everybody down."

Super Senior Flight

On the Super Senior Flight, Tony Vibar shot a 138 to lead the way. Don Szczech shot a 140 and Don Olson shot a 142. Jim Collins finished with a 143.