GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks golfer Carson Skarperud wasn’t on a hot streak coming into the weekend.
He missed the cut at last weekend’s Red River Amateur in Moorhead and ended his UND season on a sour note at the Summit League Championships.
Momentum meant nothing this weekend in Bismarck, however, at the North Dakota State Stroke Play Championships.
Skarperud fired a 54-hole total of 212 to win the event by one shot to earn an invitation to the 2025 USGA Amateur Championship.
The U.S. Amateur will be played Aug. 11-17 in San Francisco.
“It’s going to be amazing,” Skarperud said. “It’ll be a dream come true. It’s a super cool course and will be a great experience.”
Skarperud fired rounds of 70, 72 and 70 to win at Riverwood Golf Course.
Trailing by one entering the final round, Skarperud knocked off Josh Persons of Fargo, who finished with 213. Jesse Horner, former Grand Forks Central standout Cole Hanson and Thomas Welk all tied for third at 215.
Coming down the stretch at Hole 16, Persons was 1-up on Skarperud with Hanson and Welk two shots back.
On 17, Skarperud made a 15-foot birdie while Persons made a par.
On 18, Skarperud said he hit his best drive of the tournament off the tee, then hit a wedge to about 8 feet. Persons was at about 30 feet.
Skarperud sunk the 8-foot birdie to win it.
Although it has been rare for a Grand Forks golfer to earn an opportunity at the U.S. Amateur, East Grand Forks native Nate Deziel, who competed collegiately at North Dakota State, won the Minnesota Golf Association Amateur Championship to earn a spot in the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
This year’s U.S. Amateur will be held at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
“I’m going to have to grind a little extra to get ready for this thing,” Skarperud said.
Skarperud was a standout golfer and hockey player at Red River High School. He had 15 goals and 30 assists as a senior for the Roughriders’ hockey team, then won the EDC individual crown during the golf season while carrying a Top 3 average in the state.
His dad, Tim, played hockey at UND and won a national championship in 2000. His grandfather, Craig, played basketball for UND, earning all-North Central Conference honors in 1972.
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