100 Years of Minnesota Men’s Golf: 1972 Big Ten Championship
12/7/2021
In one of the most exciting performances in program history, the University of Minnesota Golf team won the Big Ten Tournament and posted the individual champion in Jim Bergeson during the spring of 1972.
The 1972 University of Minnesota golf team included Bergeson, coach Les Bolstad, Warren Bracke, John Carr, Rich Ehrmanntraut, Bob Fahrenbruch, Robbie Harris, John Harris, Jim Holisky, Gary McDonald, Tim O’Neil, Terry Quinn, John Stephenson and captain Gary Wert.
The Gophers won the team championship by 16 shots, a record score for 72 holes. Minnesota’s total of 1,440 strokes bested the Big Ten record of 1,464 set by Purdue in 1950 by 24 strokes. Minnesota led Indiana by just one stroke at the 54-hole mark, but Bergeson’s 66, a 69 by Ehrmanntraut and a 70 by Harris gave the Gophers the championship.
“It was a total surprise when they came up and told us we won,” Wert said. “What a surprise. We didn’t even understand what a big deal it was.”
Individual champion Jim Bergeson set one conference record and tied another in a dramatic finish. Bergeson’s total of 281, three under par, for 72 holes led the field by a four-stroke margin, and equalled conference records set in 1935 and matched in 1956. His 134 for 36 holes broke the Big Ten mark, and his 66 for one round tied the University’s competitive course record.
This was the first time since 1929 that the Gophers won both the team and individual championships simultaneously. The individual winner then was Bolstad.
