Minnetonka’s Gunnar Broin did his best to make up for a lost season in 18 holes
COON RAPIDS, Minn. (BVM) — Bunker Hills Golf Course has been the end goal of Minnesota High School golf teams for many years as the host of the MSHSL state tournament. This year was no different.
As state high school associations began canceling spring sports, people began to look for opportunities to try and make it up to all the athletes who had lost their seasons.
The Minnesota PGA and Minnesota PGA Junior Golf were among those groups, and with the help of Bunker Hills Golf Course they set up a senior showcase to give graduating high schoolers a chance to play one last time.
“I heard they were doing this tournament and I thought it was a great idea,” Minnetonka High School graduate Gunnar Broin said. “Give the seniors one last shot and I was to go out there and compete. My grandpa got me into the game at the age of 3 and I didn’t know what it was obviously. My dad had got my sister a set of Snoopy clubs, a putter, a chipper and a wedge. They were for my sister, but I ended up using them.”
From that point on, Broin continued to improve, making varsity at Minnetonka in eighth grade on his way to becoming one of the best golfers in the state of Minnesota.
Now it had all come down to this one showcase — 18 more holes for Broin to be a Skipper.
“I brought out my Minnetonka bag for one last round,” Broin said.
After five years on varsity, this moment meant a lot to Broin.
“On the first tee I had a little bit of first-tee jitters,” said Broin, who got over those jitters pretty quickly.
Besides a three putt on the third hole, Broin shot a 67 for the round to win the showcase by two strokes.
“I was kind of speechless,” Broin said. “I wanted to win this tournament so bad.”
Winning the showcase was everything to Broin, who had entered his senior year with some big goals.
“Minnetonka had a really good shot this year of not only getting to the state tournament as a team but winning it,” Broin said.
The Skippers won state in 2016 when Broin was an eighth grader and were runners up in 2017. They were hungry to get back to Bunker Hill.
On top of those team goals were personal ones that included winning Mr. Golf for Minnesota and getting to compete for an individual state title — an opportunity he missed last year when his opponent sunk a 25-foot putt in a playoff.
Broin isn’t wallowing in the thought of what could have been. Instead, he made the most of his chance to represent Minnetonka and won the only high school golf tournament that will be played this year.
“I’m glad that I could do it one last time when it mattered the most,” said Broin, who has now put his focus toward his college career at Colorado State University, which is a top 20 golf school.
Broin committed to the Rams after he was forced to decommit from the University of Tennessee. The Minnetonka High School graduate will begin his college career this fall in Fort Collins.
“I can’t wait to get to Colorado State,” Broin said. “I’ve been texting the coach every couple days just to check in.”
In Fort Collins, Broin hopes to continue with golf whether it’s on the PGA Tour or as a teacher. He wants the sport to remain part of his life.
“I would love to pursue a career in golf,” Broin said.
