The 2nd Annual Lakeville Ryder Cup takes flight this weekend in northern Minnesota as the biggest rivalry in the state is renewed yet again.
Lakeville, MN is nestled just 23 miles south of the Twin Cities and consists of two high-schools – North and South. The city split into two high-schools in 2006 after the population began to rapidly increase, with County Road 50 becoming the decisive marker as to who would end up at what school.
Now why is this so important that I am blogging about a random highway in the middle of a rural city in Minnesota? Well, the group of friends that I grew up with was divided by this road and it altered our lives altogether. Half of us ended up on the North end, while the other half ended up on the South side.
After 13 years of heated rivalries consisting of hockey, golf, basketball, football, tenny-ball, softball and pretty much any type of physical activity that you can imagine, we gather together for one weekend during the summer to renew the rivalry yet again!
Although we don’t all live in the same city anymore, one might argue that this is quite possibly a bigger tilt than some of our high-school sports battles in the early 2010’s.
IT’S THE MN RYDER CUP! IT’S FOR BRAGGING RIGHTS FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR! NOBODY WANTS TO LOSE – NOBODY”
This Memorial Day weekend the boys will be heading up to Biwabik, MN to play the Wilderness at Fortunes Bay as well as the Quarry at Giants Ridge. It’s a two day event consisting of High-Low on Saturday evening, followed by eight singles head-to-head matchups Sunday morning and a 2-man best ball Sunday afternoon.
So let’s go ahead and meet the rosters!
Team Lakeville North
1- Joel Oxton – 6ft 1, 162lbs
North’s number 1 is coming of a torn achilles suffered during a pick-up basketball game at LifeTime Fitness dating back to late February. What many thought was going to be a 2019 Ryder-ending tear, actually turned out to be a small hiccup into something much larger. Joel fired a 75 in his walking boot last month and has been skipping lunch to work on his game during the work days. This kid bleeds red and black and has a short game like Jordan Spieth. Look for North’s horse to take control up in the Iron Range and help propel this team to the top.
Shoots – right
PGA Comparable – Jordan Spieth
Drink of choice – Bud Light
2 – Trey Heid – 6ft 1/2, 188lbs
Heid is making his first career start at the Ryder Cup, missing 2018 due to major reconstructive shoulder surgery on his throwing arm (right). He graduated from Augustana College in Sioux Falls two years ago, but he has been committed to making his team better on the green. Trey ranks number 1 on North in average putts per round (25), but is hindered on the tee box. He has been compared by some to a young Rickie Fowler on the putting surface, but a Billy Horschel off the tee.
“My shoulder keeps popping out. I hope my parents have their receipts for this awful surgery!” Well, let’s hope so too, Trey.
Shoots – right
PGA Comparable – Rickie Fowler
Drink of choice – Vodka
3 – Matt Ostdiek – 5ft 9, 199lbs
Osty just recently moved back home to Lakeville after a stint in Austin, TX. He treats this event like a Game 7 in the NHL and he lives, breathes, eats, sleeps and thinks about the Lakeville Ryder all day long. If you show me somebody more committed then I’ll either show you Joe Freemark from South or a liar. Matt has been known to skull a few drives, as well as point his toes towards the cup when he putts, but he is a valuable asset in the fairways (if he can hit them). His range finder will be dialed, there is no doubt about that, but if drinking comes into play then he is going to have to weather an absurd storm from the South chirping gallery. The former Texas resident has put in his time this offseason and he feels that his game is coming along nicely, just like that of the up-and-coming Kang Sung-hoon.
Shoots – left
PGA Comparable – Kang Sung-hoon
Drink of choice – Water
4 – Evan Peterson – 6ft, 183lbs
Petie is also making his inaugural debut up north after being a “healthy scratch” in the minutes leading up to 2018. His game peaked last September before moving to NYC, breaking 80 twice and only cursing 20 times per round, 76 less times than his 2017 average. Peterson’s game is literally unknown and he is the second biggest wild card on this roster. He has played 9 holes in the past 7 months due to living in a city that makes the sport virtually impossible. There is no doubt that he will be chirping with the best of them, but if one thing is going to stop this talent from performing it will be his flat stick along with a lack of depth perception from 150+ yards out (Joel, he’s going to neeeeed you). He has been preparing his game mentally by watching tutorial videos on how to chip around the green on YouTube, but his game is anywhere but where it needs to be…yet. Tommy “Petie” Fleetwood will have his work cut out for him, but will he live up to the test?
Shoots – left
PGA Comparable – Tommy Fleetwood
Drink of choice – Twisted Tea
5 – Chuck Lindgren – 6ft 2, 178lbs
Lindy could be the most improved player on Team North. He entered last years Ryder with brand new irons and without any rounds under his belt, and it showed. It took a miraculous back 9 for him to complete the biggest comeback in Ryder history, dethroning South’s Ben Freemark after coming back from down 6 with 7 to play to outright winning the match. Insanity! The Laval Rocket netminder has already peaked in May 2019 and jumped from the 8 seed to the likely 5/6 on his squad. He is legitimately buck wild off the tee, spraying drives everywhere, however his irons/hybrid game is sneaky good. If this kid can make some putts and not have the yips at Giants Ridge, then you expect him to take care of business on the weekend.
Shoots – right
PGA Comparable – Matt Kuchar (cheap)
Drink of choice – vodak-water with a lime
6 – Charlie Hayes – 5ft 9, 175lbs
The Purple Ninja is easily North’s most utilized weapon. Although he sits in the 6 slot, he is one of the longest players off the box. No chance this kid has his hat forward all weekend, which could effect the eyes a bit if the sun is out. Hayes will not only drink his opposition under the table but he will beat them in the process. He has been putting in work this spring to make sure he is at his best heading into the long weekend, and his consistency is what will drive the depth of North. Don’t let this skid get into your kitchen because there is no way he is leaving without your lunch money.
Shoots – right
PGA Comparable – John Daly
Drink of choice – Michelob – Golden Light
7 – Ryan Lindgren – 6ft, 201lbs
Ryan is a returning veteran at the Ryder Cup, but his performance from last year makes his status for this weekend unknown. The former U of M Golden Gopher has been known to attend college frat parties rather than work on his game. “My game is where it needs to be on and OFF the course.” Rumor has it that he has been throwing darts from 130 yards and in and might not be a true 7, however, that is just white noise coming from the peanut gallery of South. Lindy Jr will be ready to rock off the course and I sure hope he is as good as they say on it.
Shoots – left
PGA Comparable – Jason Dufner
Drink of choice – Hennessy
8 – Nate Arentz – 5ft 11, 185lbs
Rounding out North’s roster is the Pewaukee, Wisconsin born lefty, little Arentzy. Nate left his job in New Mexico with the hopes of returning to prominent golf form in 2019. He purchased a brand new set of Srixon irons and has also played a mere 9 holes this spring. When healthy, this depth player can BOMB the golf ball, but only 1 in 10 are accurate enough to play without taking a drop. He has a tough time reading the slope of the green but will laugh at just about anything anybody says! He is the ultimate team player for North and will do anything for the boys. Arentzy is “just happy to be here,” and will look to help this roster in any way he can to achieve glory.
Shoots – left
PGA Comparable – Y.E. Yang
Drink of choice – Twisted Tea-Strawberry
Injured Reserve – Brady Skjei and Blake Winiecki
Team Lakeville South
1 – Mack Farley – 6ft 1, 170lbs
South’s ringer is good, long off the tee.
2 – AJ Michaelson – 6ft, 192lbs
Talented in all aspects of golf, could fold under pressure.
3 – Joe Freemark – 5ft 9, 173lbs
Not a true 3 according to him, but will make you putt out everything under the sun.
4 – Andrew Commers – 5ft 10, 180lbs
Making his Ryder debut. No tape on this player at all. Could be good, but could also be really bad. Back pocket always has a hockey puck in it.
5 – Jake Ocken – 6ft 2, 199lbs
Game peaked in 2018. He has struggled so far this spring, but has high upside if his game is on. Known for throwing wedges into the fescue or tall grass.
6 – Matt Heller – 5ft 11, 172lbs
Also got fitted for brand new clubs this spring. He sprays his driver more than anybody in this tournament and plays any ball he can get his hands on.
7 – Alex Harvey – 5ft 10, 180lbs
Hurricane Harvey needs to limit the amount of club tosses this weekend if he is going to help Team South out on the weekend.
8 – Ben Freemark – 5ft 8, 160lbs
Biggest collapse in Ryder Cup history in 2018. Looking for revenge in 2019.
Injured Reserve – Justin Kloos, Jake Bischoff
The Matchups
Day 1 High-Low
-Trey Heid/Matt Ostdiek vs Mack Farley/Andrew Commers
-Ben Freemark/Joe Freemark vs. Chuck Lindgren/Ryan Lindgren
-Evan Peterson/Joel Oxton vs Jake Ocken/AJ Michaelson
-Charlie Hayes/Nate Arentz vs Matt Heller/Alex Harvey
Day 2 Singles (*TBD*)
1 – Joel Oxton vs 1 – Mack Farley
2 – Trey Heid vs 2 – AJ Michaelson
3 – Matt Ostdiek vs 3 – Joe Freemark
4 – Evan Peterson vs 4 – Andrew Commers
5 – Chuck Lindgren vs 5 – Jake Ocken
6 – Charlie Hayes vs 6 – Matt Heller
7 – Ryan Lindgren vs 7 – Alex Harvey
8 – Nate Arentz vs 8 – Ben Freemark
Day 2 Best Ball (*TBD*)
Captains will select who they want paired up in the final event.
Team North and South will be without a few key players this time around as Brady, Blake (North), Jake and Justin (South) are all playing pro hockey instead of competing up north.
The field is set for both team’s and so are the majority of the matchups. This weekend will come down to pure grit and determination, and if North wants to steal the trophy away from South they will have to put together a full three rounds from start to finish!
Although we won’t be getting the highly anticipated singles rematch between Ben Freemark and Chuck Lindgren, the people will be getting a brothers High-Low duel on Day 1 that could be just as, if not better then last years epic battle.
South may be the defending champs, but North is seeking redemption in 2019.
Tee it up boys and let the best team win!
Cheers!