M.C. Mini Masters

M.C. Mini Masters logo

The M.C. Mini Masters is an amateur miniature golf tournament affiliated with the United States ProMiniGolf Association (USPMGA). Founded in 1997, the tournament has been held annually since. It has a format unique to miniature golf tournaments, whether professional or amateur, in that each round of the tournament is played on a different course. Despite this, the entire six-round event is completed in approximately thirteen hours from tee-off to completion, using six different courses in southeast Wisconsin and northeast Illinois.

The name M.C. Mini Masters is an homage to the PGA's Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia. While the winners of the PGA's Masters win the Green Jacket, the winners of the M.C. Mini Masters receive the Ugly Jacket.

In 2005, the tournament hosted a professional division for the first time, but due to some turnover in the offices of the USPMGA, the Pro Division did not continue in 2006. The M.C. Mini Masters has made a commitment to remain strictly amateur in the future.

Tournament director Mick Cullen announced in March 2007 that Libertyville, the closing course of the Mini Masters for four of five years from 2002-2006, would have to be replaced because the course had been sold to a developer who planned to level it in August 2007 and use it for another purpose. The sale fell through and the course remains intact but closed. In April 2008, Cullen announced that Par-King in Lincolnshire, IL would be the closing course for the next installment of the tournament. The final two rounds in 2008 were played at the 36-hole format of Par-King, with round five taking place on the Black Course and the sixth and final round on the Red Course. The other course that was eliminated from the lineup is Kristof's in Round Lake Beach, Illinois.

Changes continued in 2009 as Congo River in Kenosha, Wisconsin closed and was demolished so an automobile dealership could be built in its place. Congo River had hosted the opening round of the tournament every year since its inception. Their closing left Kenosha's Action Territory as the only course to be included in every installment of the M.C. Mini Masters. Replacing Congo River was Sisolak's West, as the course that had been shuttered since 2004 reopened under new ownership, but was only able to prepare one 18-hole course in time for the tournament. Tom Schweiss won the 2009 installment of the tournament to become only the second competitor to win back-to-back titles. Schweiss's three career titles to that point were also second-most all-time (tied with Matthew Cullen), trailing only Michael Cullen's six. In 2011, tournament founder Mick Cullen stepped down as director, ceding control of the event to Michael and Matthew Cullen. Mick went on to win the 2011 edition of the tournament with a record low total of 236 (34 under par), taking his second Mini Masters title. Mick repeated in 2012 to become just the third back-to-back winner in tournament history.

In 2013, Schweiss took his fourth championship, only to be matched the next year by Mick Cullen, whose 2014 crown gave him three in four years. In 2015, Michael Cullen returned from a two-year retirement to become the oldest Mini Masters champion at 59. His seventh victory came 9 years after his most recent, and was rather imporbable. Down by four strokes entering the final round, he tallied four holes-in-one en route to a field-best 36 at the layout, tying Schweiss at 21 under par after 108 holes. For the first time in Mini Masters history, the tournament progressed to sudden death. On the final hole, Schweiss's tee shot went into the water, resulting in a penalty and giving him no opportunity to score better than a three. Michael Cullen proceeded to record a two, ending the sudden-death playoff after just one hole.

In a surprising repeat, the very next year saw the second-ever sudden-death playoff in Mini Masters history. This time, Mick Cullen scored a hole-in-one on the 18th hole of the final round to make up a two-stroke deficit on Zach Reichert, who had a two-stroke lead coming into the 108th hole. They proceeded to the same sudden-death playoff hole used the previous year, where Reichert won the coin flip and elected to putt first. He hit his tee shot into a water hazard and Mick Cullen proceeded to sink his first putt for a hole-in-one, winning the tournament in dramatic fashion for his fifth Mini Masters crown, trailing only his father Michael's total of seven.

The 2017 M.C. Mini Masters will be held on Saturday, June 24.

M.C. Mini Masters champions

Currently used courses

Previously used courses

References

M.C. Mini Masters tournament website

Chicago Tribune coverage of 2001 tournament


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.