Dickinson’s Tyler Reisenauer wins third straight Kevin Bergman Labor Day Classic title
Dickinson native Tyler Reisenauer had hopes when the weekend started to win his third straight Kevin Bergman Labor Day Classic title.By: Royal McGregor, The Dickinson Press
- Tyler Reisenauer
- Deon DeWitt
Dickinson native Tyler Reisenauer had hopes when the weekend started to win his third straight Kevin Bergman Labor Day Classic title.
After three days of competitive golf, his hopes turned into reality.
But not before a little drama ensued with Deon DeWitt.
“It was a good match,” Reisenauer said. “God, he’s good. I lucked out. He made a couple mistakes and, in match play, you just have to take advantage of the mistakes.”
Reisenauer won the 64th annual Labor Day Classic, defeating DeWitt 1-up on Monday at Heart River Golf Course.
The Dickinson native and Dickinson Trinity boys golf coach has played Heart River Golf Course his entire life. Club professional Jeremy Davis said it has been a special honor to have a local golfer be so successful in the tournament.
“It’s nice to see, because he’s a local golfer,” Davis said. “He’s played here all of his life. He’s got a lot of local knowledge and a lot of talent.”
This was DeWitt’s first time playing in the tournament and he said he plans on making it back next year.
“It’s good, quality golf,” said DeWitt, who is originally from South Africa and now lives in Medora. “In the championship flight, there are a lot of good players. I’ll definitely be back.”
The most impressive quality about DeWitt was his presence on the tee box. He hit the ball a ton, striking the ball 325 to 350 yards. There were moments when he hit irons off the tee on par fours.
“The best thing about match play is that you still have to play your game,” Reisenauer said. “I know where my game, my capabilities are going to be. He can hit it farther than me and I already know that, so it doesn’t really bother me.
“It is fun watching him hit it 60 yards past me,” Reisenauer added with a laugh.
Both players had rickety starts to the first nine as each was getting accustomed to the gallery of people following their every move.
The nerves were in full force, but Reisenauer said after the first couple holes everything started to settle down.
“We both started off a little shaky,” Reisenauer said. “It took a while to get into a rhythm, get comfortable, so it took about six to seven holes to kind of get warmed up.”
Not to mention Reisenauer’s mother was in the crowd. The Dickinson native said that was a pretty special moment.
“It was first time that my mom has watched me golf in a tournament, which was kind of nice,” Reisenauer said. “It was fun.”
DeWitt held an early lead going into the back nine, but that’s where Reisenauer has flourished the last three years. The biggest momentum swing was on No. 16 where DeWitt hit out of bounds on his tee shot.
The door was open for Reisenauer and he didn’t miss the opportunity.
“It was huge,” he said. “Anytime you go first and hit a good shot on No. 16, it always puts the pressure on the other player. It was just like last year with (Paul) Keller. The same thing happened. It’s a very crucial hole for driving.”
The problems mounted for DeWitt on the back nine, struggling with his short game. He said too many opportunities were missed and when playing a solid golfer like Reisenauer, he will make you pay.
“I missed a few crucial putts on the back side that was probably the downfall,” DeWitt said. “The out of bounds on 16 didn’t help either.
“Tyler is a good player. I was just trying to hang with him the best I could. In the end, Tyler was a winner and he played well.”
For a player without the experience of the Labor Day Classic, Davis said it was remarkable to see DeWitt make some noise and content for the title.
“I just call that impressive and natural talent,” Davis said. “He’s obviously an extremely good player. He’s someone that can play high-caliber golf in any type of condition.”
The championship flight played in a foursome with the consolation finals. Dickinson’s Doug Wellenstein, who won the third flight last year, defeated Matthew Voegele.
Davis said the weather conditions were great all weekend and he the competition of the golfers is always in full effect.
“We had a little bit of rain the other morning for about 10 minutes,” Davis said. “All-in-all, it was a pretty good Labor Day weekend. It could have been much worse and it has been in the past. We’re grateful it turned out this way for sure.”
Championship flight
Tyler Reisenauer def. Deon DeWitt, 1-up
Consolation
Doug Wellenstein def. Matthew Voegele
First flight
Brock Cuskelly def. Dave Weiler
Consolation
Troy Stone def. Luke Filkowski
Second flight
Scott Thompson def. Barry Donnan
Consolation
Casey King def. Joel Kostelecky
Third flight
Gabe Allen def. Scott Bergan
Consolation
Jayme Kadrmas def. Jim Jahner
Fourth flight
Brett Lefor def. K.C. Homiston
Consolation
Travis Ketterling def. Jim Ernst
Fifth flight
Cory Ash def. Ryan Beck
Consolation
Tom Volesky def. Chris Barres
Sixth flight
Scott Schaffer def. Graydon Ash
Consolation
Josh Hoveland def. Jason Barkley
Seventh flight
T.J. Tooz def. Chase Gunwall
Consolation
Brad Pauley def. Mike Avery
Eighth flight
Eldy Kuntz def. Jason Scott
Consolation
Joe Miller def. Joel Bosch
Ninth flight
Barry Butler def. Al King
Consolation
Bruce Ellingson def. Mitch Kick
10th flight
Dustin Moore def. Tawn Frenzel
Consolation
Dodie Birdsall def. Chad Welch
11th flight
Curt Welch def. Pat Wanner
Consolation
Curtis Ryland def. Erv Weiler
12th flight
Travis Olmstead def. Phil Levenseller
Consolation
John Pregenzer def. Tom Agnew
13th flight
Ken Roshau def. Mark Allen
Consolation
John Dynes def. Kenny Everson
14th flight
Alan Reed def. Jerry Tuhy
Consolation
William Milner def. J.C. Nelson
15th flight
Bob Weber def. Jerry Weber
Consolation
Tom MacDonal def. John Langford, Jr.
Tags: tyler reisenauer, deon dewitt, kevin bergman labor day classic, sports, golf
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