University of Minnesota Athletics
Throwback Thursday: Gophers Hosting Tournaments
9/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Photo Gallery
The Golden Gophers have been hosting the Gopher Invitational in its present form since 2005. The 12th playing, and fourth at Windsong Farm Golf Club, will take place Sept. 10-11.
Before the Gopher Invitational began, Minnesota men's golf had hosted other tournaments. When John Means interviewed for the Gophers' head coaching job, he indicated hosting a tournament was one of his goals. That plan came to fruition in 1995.
"If we had asked a club around here three years if they would let us have their course for three days, they would have laughed at us," Means told the Star Tribune before the tournament. "If we had asked some of the best teams in the country to come here, they definitely would have laughed."
Dellwood Hills National Golf Club and the Gophers' 11 guest teams didn't laugh. Sponsored by ReliaStar Financial Group and planned by the Golden Gopher Golf Booster Club, the inaugural ReliaStar Collegiate Golf Invitational was played Sept. 17-18. Minnesota's Aaron Barber captured medalist honors and the Gophers tied for third.
"We want to showcase college golf here," Means told the Pioneer Press in 1996. "And it's great for our guys to play in front of the home crowds and on a course they're familiar with."
The ReliaStar Invite's second playing, in 1996, was at Hazeltine National Golf Club. This time the Gophers won their own tournament. Rob Kerr tied for first. Minnesota and Kerr repeated back at Dellwood in 1997.
Home fall events were sporadic for the next several years, as Minnesota's Bolstad course played host to the Northern Intercollegiate, a Big Ten preview tournament in 1998 and then Dellwood hosted the PSINet Golf Invitational in 2000. The Minnesota Intercollegiate Invitational in 2001, which was to be held at Troy Burne, was cancelled due to travel challenges after Sept. 11.
Minnesota men's golf did not host another tournament until 2005, when the Gopher Invitational began at Spring Hill Golf Club. Head coach Brad James and assistant coach Andrew Tank guided Minnesota to a team victory, and Niall Turner won the individual title.
When John Carlson took over the reins as head coach, the Gopher Invitational was entering its sixth year.
"Hosting your own college golf tournament is a lot of work," Carlson said. "It's an expensive venture for the program. But it also helps you with scheduling. It sets up your schedule based on the teams you invite. A lot of them will return the invitation to their home tournaments. I thought it was a competitive advantage for us to host our own tournament. Where it was being hosted, Spring Hill, one of the best courses in the whole Midwest, made it very easy for me to make that transition mentally to, 'All right, I'm going to take this big project on and we're just going to continue with the tournament.'"
Carlson helped facilitate the 2013 move to Windsong, which was aided by team connections. Although he said it was difficult to leave Spring Hill, Carlson looked to convince teams that Windsong has similar conditions and "the experience was going to be second to none."
The experience has drawn talented teams to Windsong year after year. Many schools in the 2016 field have been to more than half of the Gopher Invitationals.
"Having some continuity is important in the schedule, Carlson said. "A lot of times you're going to have a player who won the even the year prior and he's back playing for it. He's not only going to be excited, but he'll get the other teammates amped up for the tournament.
"[Building a strong field is] very relationship-based. It's coaches getting to know each other outside of golf, getting to care about each other. The personal relationship's I've established really help our field. When they come they really talk positively about the Gopher Invitational to other coaches in the country, and it's become one of the best tournaments in the country because of those coaches out there doing the work for me."
Carlson said that sending early, detailed invitations helps, as well as privately fundraising to cover costs so Minnesota does not need to charge teams to play in the tournament.
In addition to the teams who return for multiple years, there have been other examples of continuity through the Gopher Invitational's 12 years. For example, 2005 tournament chairman George Hallin, who is also a Gophers letterwinner, will be the first hole starter at Windsong this weekend. Carlson also keeps in touch with James and Means, who hosted tournaments before his time at Minnesota. Some of the volunteers who help create a big-time tournament environment have been part of it for years.
This year's tournament includes the first playing of the Gopher Individual, down the road at Pioneer Creek Golf Course. The Individual will feature additional players from teams in the Invitational field, as well as players from local schools. Although the Gopher Invitational is in its 12th year, each year brings new changes and improvements, and Minnesota continues to show that northern states can hold their own when it comes to hosting quality golf.
