Gophers senior Angus Flanagan shoots course record 64 in final round surge to win Minnesota Open

Angus Flanagan began the final round of the 2020 Minnesota PGA Open tied for fourth place and three shots off the lead, but a course record 64 – punctuated by a spectacular eagle on the final hole – gave him a two stroke win.

Click the video box on this page to watch extended highlights of the final round of the 2020 Minnesota Open, the surprise reward the champion received during the trophy presentation and the post-round interview with winner Angus Flanagan

Flanagan held a one-shot lead heading to the par-5 18th hole. Using a borrowed driver most of the round after realizing on the front nine he’d cracked the face of his driver, Flanagan smashed his drive on 18 to within a mid-iron shot of the green. Using a 6-iron, Flanagan drew his approach around a tree to the highly-elevated green, settling the ball within five feet of a tricky pin placed on a plateau in the back left corner.

He sank his eagle putt to finish -15 for the tournament. His final round 64 is a new course record at the three-year-old Royal Club in Lake Elmo.

North Oaks-native Frankie Capan finished second, two strokes behind Flanagan at -13. Capan’s final round played just after an official announcement he will transfer from the University of Alabama to Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida.

During the trophy presentation ceremony, 3M Open Executive Director and Royal Club founder Hollis Cavner surprised Flanagan with an invitation to play in the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities later this month.

Flanagan had planned to try to earn a spot in the 3M Open through the qualification tournament.

A native of suburban London, Flanagan has been stuck in the United States after travel and quarantine issues made getting home for the summer too difficult.

Flanagan will be a senior at the University of Minnesota this fall and was the Big Ten champion in 2019. He still has two years of eligibility remaining after the NCAA granted spring sport athletes an additional year of eligibility after the pandemic shut the 2020 spring season down.

The final round group Flanagan played in also included Gophers assistant coach Matt Rachey, and former Gopher Ben Frazzini. Rachey finished tied for 9th place.

Jeff Sorenson, who held a one-stroke lead on Capan entering the final round, finished tied for third with Sam Matthew at -11.

Click here to see the final leaderboard for the 2020 Minnesota Open