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Haedtke, a Winona native, finished fourth at the Minnesota Golf Association Amateur Championship Qualifying at Eagle Ridge Golf Course in Coleraine, Minn. on June 23.
With the finish, he qualified for the 105th MGA Amateur Championship at Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minn.
“It was very exciting,” said Haedtke, who shot 77 and missed qualifying by two strokes last year. “I came close to qualifying last year when I didn’t really expect to qualify. That experience gave me more confidence going into this year.”
The 18-year-old Haedtke shot two-over par 74 at the Amateur Qualifying and was tied for fourth with two other players and had to go to a playoff. However, Haedtke was not expecting a playoff at all.
“I was expecting to qualify, but not in a playoff,” he said. “I thought I was in, but when I got back and saw that I was going have to be in a playoff, I was shocked. I didn’t have a lot of confidence going into the playoff.”
On the fifth playoff hole Haedtke finally won, but it wasn’t easy. He made clutch putts on the third and fourth playoff holes to keep the playoff going.
“I didn’t feel much pressure,” he said. “I had a buddy, Paul Speltz, as my caddy. He really knows how to read the greens. He helped take the pressure off.”
Haedtke is a 2007 Winona High graduate, was two-time all-Big Nine in his time golfing at WSHS. He finished his freshman year at UW-Stout in the spring and now heads off to Windsong Farm Golf Club to compete today through Wednesday at the Amateur Championship against a field of 145 other competitors.
“I just played (Windsong Farm) for the first time, it’s really hard,” he said. “I’m not expecting much. I just want to make the cut and play on Wednesday.”
