Jul. 23—BEMIDJI — Ian Simonich was 17 years old when he won the Pine to Palm in Detroit Lakes.
The Moorhead native and North Dakota State rising senior is a regular player in two resort tour tournaments.
“That’s my tournament, so to speak,” Simonich said of the Pine to Palm. “That’s the big one out of the three for me. Being from Moorhead and watching my dad play in the Pine to Palm, that was kind of always my major championship.”
Simonich has made deep runs in the Pine to Palm over the years, finishing as a runner-up in 2022, a semifinalist in 2021 and the medalist last summer. He’s hoping those trends begin to carry over to the Birchmont, his second favorite leg of the vacation circuit.
Simonich got off to a good start in making that happen, finishing his 36-hole qualifier score as the medalist at 11-under par. He carded a seven-under first round of 65, then followed with a 68, edging out Bison teammate Jake Skarperud by two strokes.
“Four of the top five were Bison, with a couple of them being grads,” Simonich said. “We all push each other so much. We’re all super close. Jake is one of my best friends. That’s the fun part about playing in this.”
NDSU grad Nate Deziel tried for third with Brandon Nelson at 137, while Bison rising junior Rylin Petry tied for fifth with Jon Dutoit. It stamped a Fargo, N.D., feel to the 100th annual Birchmont’s qualifier.
Other North Dakota State golfers — current and graduated — nabbed qualifying spots inside the top 12. Nate Adams tied for eighth at four-under, while Josh Galvin tied for 12th two strokes behind Adams.
But Simonich stood alone above the rest of his teammates with the help of a chaotic first day at the Bemidji Town and Country Club. He made seven birdies and two eagles in his opening qualifying round to hold a one-shot lead in first place with a 65.
“It was pretty crazy,” Simonich said. “It wasn’t a great start. I had a bad chip on No. 6, and then I kind of just went on a run. … I don’t think I’ve ever had two eagles in a round. Once I made a putt on No. 15 to get to eight-under-par, I was kind of like, ‘Oh, it just got real.’ I was thinking about breaking my career record of seven-under.”
With two holes left, Simonich was nine-under and one shot back of the course record. However, a double bogey on No. 17 knocked him back.
“It was just a really bad break,” Simonich said. “I was in a divot and I misjudged it. I hit into the rocks. Sometimes, that just happens. But I got to battle with my teammate Jake today, and that’s just fun.”
Simonich teed off on Monday morning and held a four-stroke lead before the afternoon wave began. The lead diminished as the second crop of Men’s Division players closed the gap.
“To be honest with you, the afternoon rounds were more impressive,” Simonich said. “I had it really easy in the morning. (The course) firmed up quite a bit, and it’s continuing to firm up. As the week goes on, it’ll play tougher. It’s cool to win (medalist), but the real prize comes later on in the week.”
As Tuesday’s qualifier played out, Simonich and Skarperud pulled ahead as the contenders to win medalist. Simonich bogeyed No. 15, while Skarperud birdied. Both sat at nine-under with three holes left.
Skarperud made par on the final three holes, opening the door for Simonich to earn the medalist with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18.
“It felt good to roll that one in on No. 17 when we were tied,” Simonich said. “To finish it off with a birdie on No. 18, it adds a little more mojo going into tomorrow.”
Simonich recalls how challenging it is to win this format of a match-play tournament. He’s not naive to the fact that it comes with some fortunate breaks.
“You have to get a lot of good draws,” Simonich said. “There’s an element of luck to it, and a break here or there can decide it. When you get 32 guys who are really good and can all shoot par, you have to perform every day. There’s always going to be a match or two that’s going to be a slugfest, and you have to find a way to hit the shots in the right moments.”
While Simonich is eager to compete for a spot on championship Saturday, he’s proud of etching his name in Birchmont history as the 100th Men’s Division medalist. He’s even more proud to do it in the communal atmosphere.
“It’s the people,” Simonich said. “You get the groups of guys — the Grand Forks guys, the Fargo guys, the NDSU guys, the Cities guys. It’s just really cool. The camaraderie of this event makes it way more unique than the others. This course is awesome. It’s an awesome match-play course, along with the (Detroit Country Club). The 100th Birchmont, it’s a really special week for a lot of people, including myself.”
Wayne Caughey pulled out the medalist honor in the Masters Division by a thin margin.
With a round of 76 in the 18-hole qualifier, Caughey beat Done Dale by one stroke to finish in first place. Jeff Nelson, Bill Thoreson, Bruce Pederson, Jeff Wiltse and Rick Vanyo all tied for third place with six-over-par rounds of 78.
Jeff Tweeton did not play in the qualifier on Tuesday but will be the top seed when match play opens as the defending champion.
* Monday: Qualifying rounds for the Men’s, Senior, Executive and Junior Divisions.
* Tuesday: Qualifying rounds for the Women’s and Masters Divisions; second round of qualifying for Men’s, Senior and Executive divisions; match play begins for Junior 10-12 division.
* Wednesday: Match play begins for all championship divisions. (Men’s letter flights, Executive Regular and Junior 10-12 divisions do not play.)
* Thursday: Match play continues for all…
