EDEN PRAIRIE – Phil Schmidt admitted he was a little nervous during the final round of the 97th Minnesota Golf Association Amateur Championship.

Thursday, July 20, 2000

EDEN PRAIRIE – Phil Schmidt admitted he was a little nervous during the final round of the 97th Minnesota Golf Association Amateur Championship.

He had a right to be.

The 25-year-old Albert Lea resident was engaged in a wire-to-wire battle for the title – the biggest prize in Minnesota amateur golf – against none other than John Harris.

Schmidt came within a whisker of knocking off the man considered the best amateur golfer in the state, finishing second in a one-hole playoff as Harris claimed his fourth State Amateur crown. Schmidt had taken a one-stroke lead into Wednesday’s final 18-hole round at Bearpath Golf and Country Club in Eden Prairie.

Schmidt, whose previous best finish in an MGA state tournament was sixth in 1996, had mixed feelings about coming so close to winning it all.

"I am disappointed, but at the same time I’m not disappointed at all," Schmidt said. "I gave it everything I could give it. It just wasn’t my time. If you’re going to get beat by anybody and hold your head up about it, (Harris) is the guy. He’s one of the best amateur players in the world."

And Schmidt, a two-time NAIA All-American at Texas Lutheran, made a name for himself as one of the best in the state.

After shooting back-to-back 70s on Monday and Tuesday, Schmidt had an up-and-down round Wednesday that included an eagle, five birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys.

"It was kind of a brutal round, I think," Schmidt said. "I made a lot of stupid mistakes I shouldn’t have made, but I was feeling some nerves I hadn’t felt in a while. I hadn’t played in any real big tournaments since college."

And there was big drama at the end.

Harris drained about a 20-foot putt for a birdie on No. 18 to send the match to a playoff, which was back on the par-4, 450-yard 18th.

After Harris hit his drive down the middle, Schmidt missed his to the right and it kicked back in the fairway, leaving him about 280 yards short of the green. The players were in similar shape for their approach shots, with Schmidt about 20 yards away in the fairway and Harris in the rough.

Schmidt’s chip left him about 25 feet from the hole, and he missed the putt. Harris made about a 7-footer for the win.

Afterward, Harris had some kind words for Schmidt. "He just said, ‘Great playing,’ basically," Schmidt said. "He said he was proud of me and enjoyed playing against me. He was just being a gentleman. He was there to win it, but he’s a good guy."

It wasn’t the first time an Albert Lea resident has battled Harris to the wire in a State Amateur. Jon Christian did it twice in the late 1980s, defeating Harris in a playoff one year while falling in a playoff another time.