Last year’s champ won’t defend title at Pine to Palm

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. – It was quite the golf year for University of Minnesota graduate Jon Trasamar, who started his senior Gophers season by dominating the 81st Pine to Palm Golf Tournament field and capping it with a Big Ten Conference championship.
Those two bookend accomplishments framed a senior season in which Trasamar couldn’t have been asked to golf any better.
It started last August when Trasamar became only the third Pine to Palm competitor since 1985 to claim both the medalist honors and championship, when he defeated Detroit Lakes native Robert Wagner 2 and 1 in the title match.
Then came the college fall and spring seasons, where eventually the Gophers claimed the Big Ten championship, something which the team was building for all year.
“Last year, we took second in the Big Ten tournament, so we knew we had to get it done this time around,” said Trasamar, who was the lone Gophers captain. “It was a good year and bookending that with a conference championship, that was the highlight of my career.”
Trasamar had a jumpstart to his college fall season by winning medalist and championship honors at the 81st Pine to Palm.
He shot a two-day low of
66-67 for a 9-under par 133.
He then proceeded to tear through match play and eventually the coveted Pine to Palm championship, joining only Andy Doeden (2001), Mike Podolak (1993) and Jim Sorenson (1985) to win both medalist and the title since 1985.
“I was just focused all week and I came out ready to go,” Trasamar said of his run in last year’s tournament. “I was focused on every round. Looking back, it really means a lot more to me winning the Pine to Palm and it’s pretty cool to have my name up on the board.”
But for the second year in a row, the defending champion will not be returning for a repeat run.
Last year, 2012 champion Beau Hanson qualified for the U.S. Amateur Tournament, which landed on the same week as the Pine to Palm.
This time, Trasamar will not be back to defend his title after turning pro, as he is currently playing on the Dakota Tour.
It didn’t take long for Trasamar to make a name for himself on the Dakota Tour after he won the $15,000 purse in Sioux Falls, S.D., very early in the season.
Trasamar used the momentum he gained during the Gophers season, where he peaked at the end of the season to help his team to the conference championship.
“We didn’t expect Jon to make a wave like he did later in the season,” said University of Minnesota head coach John Carlson. “He served as the team’s leader, not only as the captain, but he led on and off the golf course and in the classroom.”