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Chewy Mini Masters Trivia
How often the tournament winner has been the...
Leader/co-leader after first round: 8/29 (27.6%)
Leader/co-leader after second round: 8/29 (27.6%)
Leader/co-leader after third round: 17/29 (58.6%)
Leader/co-leader after fourth round: 20/29 (69.0%)
Leader/co-leader after fifth round: 17/29 (58.6%)
Aloha Falls/Libertyville winner/co-winner: 5/14 (35.7%)
Ballybunion winner/co-winner: 1/2 (50%)
Congo Falls winner/co-winner: 2/7 (28.6%)
Congo Rapids winner/co-winner: 1/7 (14.3%)
Congo River winner/co-winner: 5/12 (41.7%)
Harry Semrow winner/co-winner: 0/1 (0.0%)
Kristof's winner/co-winner: 3/13 (23.1%)
Lighthouse winner/co-winner: 10/22 (45.5%)
Lost Falls winner/co-winner: 7/18 (38.9%)
Par-King Black winner/co-winner: 4/16 (25.0%)
Par-King Red winner/co-winner: 9/16 (56.3%)
Rocky's Fun House Gurnee winner/co-winner: 1/4 (25%)
Rocky's Fun House Waukegan winner/co-winner: 0/1 (0.0%)
Sisolak's East winner/co-winner: 4/7 (57.1%)
Sisolak's West winner/co-winner: 4/13 (30.8%)
Wild West winner/co-winner: 1/9 (11.1%)
Wisconsin Adventure winner/co-winner: 2/9 (22.2%)
Number of times the champion has...
Won/tied for no course titles: 4
Won/tied for one course title: 4
Won/tied for two course titles: 14
Won/tied for three course titles: 4
Won/tied for four course titles: 2
Won/tied for five course titles: 1
Gone sixless for the day: 24
Scored one six for the day: 2
Scored two sixes for the day: 3
Been under par every round: 6
Been par or better every round: 6
Been over par one round: 10
Been over par two rounds: 6
Been over par three rounds: 1
Had five rounds under 40: 1
Had four rounds under 40: 2
Had three rounds under 40: 8
Had two rounds under 40: 6
Had one round under 40: 7
Had no rounds under 40: 5
Had a round of 50+: 5
Had no rounds of 50+: 21
Miscellany
The most interesting summary of hole scores relative to par for one round probably belongs to Matt Landt's 2002 round at Libertyville: 3 birdies, 3 pars, 3 bogeys, 3 double bogeys, 3 triple bogeys, and 3 quadruple bogeys. It's the only time in MCMM history that a player has had exactly three of six different types of hole results in one round.
The most sixes ever by the Most Holes-in-one Champion was 3, accomplished by Mark Mason in 2012. Mark had two sixes at Action Territory alone (where he had also scored five aces), but he didn't collect the third six until the 6th hole at Par-King Red, a hole where none of the other 37 players scored higher than a 3.
R.J. Dusak's closing-round 52 in 2005 nearly cost him his first M.C. Mini Masters title, but he held on. Nevertheless, that 52 stands as the highest round ever posted by a tournament champion. Mick Cullen came close to that mark when he recovered from a second-round 51 (+1) at Wild West to win his 5th Ugly Jacket in a sudden-death playoff over Zach Reichert in 2016.
No one with a round of 53-56 has ever placed higher than 4th. The highest a player with a 57 has placed is 7th. A score of 58-64 has meant no higher than a 9th place finish.
Fifteen people who finished outside the top 10 in final tournament standings have won or tied for course titles in the Mini Masters. Jaclyn Garzonetti at Congo River in 2000 was the first (she finished 11th/18), but it didn't happen again until 33 rounds later, when rookie Pilar O'Brien took the Kristof's title in 2005 with a 40 but still finished T-21st out of 37 players overall.
There'd be no similarly long wait for the next such occurrence, however; Jason Gola posted a 40 at Ballybunion, the very next course, to win that course title despite finishing 12th overall. O'Brien and Garzonetti are also with Gola on another list: the only players to win course titles despite finishing in the bottom half of the field overall. Gola won Congo River with a 40 in 1998 but went on to finish 7th out of 11 in the smallest Mini Masters field ever.
In 2007, Lisa Curran took the title at Kristof's and went on to finish T-11th/25. It was almost ten years before the fifth occurrence of this event, when Sharon Bull posted her only under-par round of the day in 2016 (and the only in her four-year MCMM career) after returning from an 8-year absence, carding a 42 at Wild West en route to finishing in 27th place out of 42 players overall.
In 2017, Greg Powroznik tied for the title at Par-King Black but finished T-21st out of 40 overall. In 2019, Stephen Rammelsberg managed just two under-par rounds as he finished 24th out of 46 on the day, but he won Par-King Black outright with a round of 37. Dan Lee tied for the low round at Kristof's (40) in 2021 but went on to place 11th out of 28 players overall.
In 2023, three people who won or tied for course titles finished outside the top 10 in a year with a jam-packed leaderboard. Tom Loftus's 34 to open the day at Wisconsin Adventure was his best round by nine strokes, as he went on to finish in 13th place out of 41. Then, Peter Wokwicz and Rusty Silber tied for the course victory at Congo Falls with a 38 and they finished the day in a tie for 11th place overall!
in 2024, another three joined the list! Ben Briselden's 38 was best at Congo Falls, but he finished the day in 15th place out of 54. Tommy Schweiss won another title at Par-King Black with a 37 en route to tying for 13th overall, and rookie Andrew Flesch tied for 17th in the final standings but took his first MCMM course title with a 37 at Par-King Red.
In 2026, two more managed the feat--rookie Ean Teague with a course-record-tying 36 at Congo Falls, and Steve Kristof with a 36 at the course he grew up on.
Undoubtedly the most unexpected player to take a course trophy was Chris Carmody in 2012. Chris actually finished 2nd at Par-King Red to Mick Cullen, but Mick had already won one course trophy that day, the maximum allowed for a Puttz Division player. Chris was only one stroke back, scoring a 39 to improve upon his previous best round that day by 13 strokes. Chris's 39 made him the first player in Mini Masters history to score a round in the 70s and the 30s on the same day. (In fact, no other MCMM player has ever scored both a round in the 30s and a round in the 70s in his/her career.) Chris finished 35th out of 38 players overall for the day, by far the lowest finish of a course trophy winner in tourney history.
Stephanie Altergott's title at Action Territory in 2009 represented the longest wait for someone's first course title in a Mini Masters career. Stephanie's winning score of 41 came in her 61st Mini Masters round. However, Josh Altergott has finished 132 rounds and Carrie Donahue 126 in their Mini Masters careers without taking a title yet, so Stephanie's record seems sure to be broken in the coming years. Taylor Schweiss came close, winning her first MCMM course title at Par-King Red in 2021, her 54th Mini Masters round.
The lowest-ever overall tournament finishes by champions/co-champions/trophy winners at each course:
Aloha Falls/Libertyville: T-7th (R.J. Dusak, 2002)
Ballybunion: 12th (Jason Gola, 2005)
Congo Falls: 15th (Ben Briselden, 2024)
Congo Rapids: 9th (Jason Gola, 2024)
Congo River: 11th (Jaclyn Garzonetti, 2000)
Harry Semrow: T-2nd (Xavier Cullen, 2021)
Kristof's: T-21st (Pilar O'Brien, 2005)
Lighthouse: T-9th (Andrew Miller, 2012)
Lost Falls: T-9th (Stephanie Altergott, 2009)
Par-King Black: 24th (Stephen Rammelsberg, 2019)
Par-King Red: 35th (Chris Carmody, 2012)
Rocky's Fun House Gurnee: 3rd (Tom Schweiss, 2006)
Rocky's Fun House Waukegan: 4th (Ed Montano, 2009)
Sisolak's East: 4th (Dan Hill, 1998)
Sisolak's West: T-8th (Pattie Karda, 2001; Dianne Cullen, 2009)
Wild West: 27th (Sharon Bull, 2016)
Wisconsin Adventure: 14th (Tom Loftus, 2023)
Lisa Curran became the first former Most Sixes winner to go sixless for an entire tournament when she pulled off that trick in 2004. Matt Landt did her one better by becoming the first former Most Sixes winner to go an entire tournament without any sixes OR fives in 2005. In the process, Landt also became the first former sixes champ to finish in the top 10 at the Mini Masters, finishing 10th out of 37, just 16 strokes behind the winner. Curran also finished in the top 10 in 2010.
Conner Altergott, even more impressively, became the first player to go from Most Sixes to no sixes in consecutive MCMM tournaments when he went sixless at the 2021 Mini Masters after taking the birdhouse in 2019. Mary Kemnitz had been the first player to go from Most Sixes winner to sixless in her next tournament appearance when she pulled the no-six trick in 2006, but she missed two Mini Masters tournaments in between .
Carolyn Carmody holds the record for most years between separate instances of taking the Most Sixes birdhouse, with four years passing between her 2009 and 2013 "triumphs."
Mick Cullen holds the record for longest gap between championships, with nine years passing between his first title in 2002 (age 25) and his second in 2011 (age 34).
Lisa Curran, Matt Landt, Mary Kemnitz, Michelle Arf, Jeff Schmidt, and Victoria Saunders are the only Most Sixes winners to avoid finishing in last place (Curran 1997, Landt 2002, Kemnitz 2003, Arf 2007, Schmidt 2012, Saunders 2015).
Lisa Curran is also the only former Most Sixes winner to take home a course title trophy, winning the crown at Kristof's in 2007 with a round of 41.
Only eleven Mini Masters veterans have played five or more complete tournaments without ever finishing in the top five scores at any single course: Seven-year veteran Carolyn Carmody; six-year veterans Maria Gola, Eli Cullen, Michelle Arf, and Carl Cutler; and five-year veterans Lacy Dusak, Anita Kemnitz, Ed Kemnitz, James Morren, Rachael Waldman, and Jeff Bull.
Bryan Akers, who made Mini Masters history by taking the title as a rookie in 2024, won his first Ugly Jacket before he won his first course title, making him the only champion in MCMM history with that distinction.
The last-place finisher has never had the worst score on each of the day's six courses, but four came close. Sarah Lampel was high scorer at five of the six layouts in 2000, only missing the sweep due to Brian Sandri's 63 at Sisolak's West (Lampel shot 60). Nat Ahrens was spared the ignominy of this feat in 2004 when, on the last course, his father Bob carded a 65 to outshoot his son's penultimate figure of 61. Becca Klunder just barely missed the distinction in 2014 when her 61 at Congo Falls was just one stroke less than Carolyn Howard's round of 62. Finally, Alexa Gola missed the top score in the first round of the day by a single stroke before going on to claim high score at the final five courses of the day in her rookie year of 2018.
Bonus stat: the Landt family beat the Ahrens duo to the keeping-all-the-high-scores-in-the-family punch, with Fran taking 1, Matt 2 and Ginny 3 of the day's course-worsts in 2002. (Sarah and Carol Dooley almost beat them, with 5 of the 6 bottom scores the previous year.)
On one occasion, the last-place overall finisher has managed the highest round score at only one course: Eli Cullen, in 2016, when his 79 at Wild West was 17 strokes worse than any other player (and 17 strokes worse than his own score at the same course in 2015).
The largest margin between best and worst score on a course in the same tournament is 49 at Par-King Red in 2023 (Derek Hartmann 36, Ben Lee 85). The smallest such margin, 15, was at Congo River in 2007 (Tom Schweiss and R.J. Dusak 41, Jake Heynis 56) and Par-King Red in 2013 (Mick Cullen 37, Taylor Schweiss 52). Surprisingly, the massive 54-player field in 2024 were all within 17 strokes of each other at Congo Rapids (Jason Gola 36, Zacchaeus Gola and Lisa & Braxton Borgford 53).
The lowest mean course championship score occurred in 2011, when a mean of 36.67 beat the old record of 37.5 (2009). (This was equaled in 2025!) Before 2009, the only year with a sub-40 course winner mean was 2003 (39.17); since 2009, the mean has never been any higher than 39.5. In 1999, the mean course-championship total was an all-time high of 41.5, helped out by two of the five course championship scores of 45 ever recorded. Mick Cullen's winning 45 at Congo River that year was the only course-title total in MCMM history that was not under par until...
When Aloha Falls opened its doors at the site of the former Libertyville Park District course that had closed years earlier, they established a par of 42 for the course, only 2 strokes higher than the record low score accomplished in the MCMM at the course previously. This led to the first-ever course-winning score in MCMM history to be over par: Jason Gola's 43, which was just a stroke better than his two closest competitors. In 2016, Aloha Falls changed their par to 48 after reviewing Mini Masters statistics for their course and determining 42 was too low.
2024's course championship scores were all 38 or lower: 36, 38, 38, 36, 37, 37.
Rookie Wil Zambole became the 100th different person to finish an M.C. Mini Masters when he holed out at the 18th hole at Libertyville in 2006. Fellow 2006 rookies Kim Zambole, Kevin Kloosterman and Mike Halls were #97, #98 and #99 respectively.
Parker Wokwicz was the 200th different player to complete a Mini Masters when he holed out at Par-King in 2022. Through 2024, 230 unique people have completed at least one Mini Masters tournament.
When Stephanie Altergott became the first woman to record a sub-40 round by posting a 37 at Lighthouse in 2006, she and husband Josh also set a record for lowest combined score at one course by a married couple, as Josh's 39 helped them to an impressive total of just 76. It was also the first time a married couple has both posted scores under 40 in the same round. Michael & Dianne Cullen matched the feat with scores of 37 and 39 at the second round of Sisolak's West in 2011.
In Dan Lee's first 16 Mini Masters rounds, he posted 16 different scores between 41 and 60 (inclusive), not repeating any score until he carded a 46 in his 17th career round.
Jon Rasmussen, however, scored 53 for four straight rounds in his one and only year, 1999. This leaves him just one behind Dianne Cullen for most career rounds of 53 scored (she has 5). The only other player to have four identical round scores in the same tourney was Tom Schweiss, who had four 40s in his championship year of 2013.
The first foreign competitor in Mini Masters history was Ken Huebert of Canada.
Heading into the 2012 MCMM, this tidbit was true:
Matthew Cullen has scored under 41 twenty-six times. He has scored over 41 sixty-four times. But he's never scored 41, a number his brother and father have recorded 23 times (Mick 12, Michael 11). Matthew's wife, Ursula, scored a 41 in her 11th career round and has since added a second. An even more amazing oddity: Jason Gola has scored more 47s (11) and 50s (8) than any MCMM player in history, as well as five 48s. His career average is 46.65. But in 84 rounds, he's never scored 49. Stranger still: Dianne Cullen's career average is 46.59, fairly close to 48...but improbably, in 78 rounds, she's never scored a 48.
However...by the second round of the 2012 tournament, Gola had scored a 49, Dianne Cullen a 48, and Matthew Cullen a 41. Matthew added a second 41 the very next round.
The current oddest omission belongs to Mark Garfin, who has scored between 40 and 58 (inclusive) in all 42 of his Mini Masters rounds. The only score he hasn't tallied in that range is 51, despite having a scoring average of 48.88, five rounds of 50, and 3 rounds of 52.
The longest sixless streak by a former Most Sixes trophy winner belongs to Lisa Curran, who went 178 holes without a six from 2003 to 2006. She was sixless in 2004 and skipped the 2005 tournament.
The most fives without scoring a six in one round is six, accomplished twice. Mary Snyder pulled it off at Action Territory in 2006 on her way to going sixless for the day, and Carrie McGowan matched the feat at the same course in 2011.
The most fives in a sixless tournament is 11 by Pam Powroznik in 2026. She had at least one five in all six rounds!
The most sixes in a fiveless tournament belong to John Thissen, who had six (6) sixes in his only tournament appearance (2004), but never carded just five strokes on a hole all day.
The best round ever without a hole-in-one belongs to Karen Kemnitz, who scored 17 straight 2s to open her 2011 round at Par-King Red before rudely being given a three by the 18th hole roulette wheel. Karen's 37 also tied Tom Schweiss's record for most twos in one round (Sisolak's East, 2003). Mick Cullen match Karen with a round of 17 twos and a single three at Congo Falls in 2025.
The best round ever with a six was recorded by Michael Cullen in 2010, when a 6 at Lighthouse's 5th hole didn't stop him from carding a 39. He had one three, two holes-in-one, and fourteen twos to fill out his round. It's the only time in MCMM history a course winner has scored a six.
The best round with a five belongs to Matthew Cullen, who scored a 38 at Sisolak's East in 2002 despite taking a five at the brutal 5th (the volcano hole).
Finally, the best rounds with a four belong to Tom Schweiss and Mick Cullen. Schweiss scored a 36 on Sisolak's West the second time around in 2011 despite scoring a four on the 10th hole after his tee shot went out of bounds. Mick also scored his 36 at the same course in 2012, carding four on his final MCMM attempt at the dreaded kangaroo hole.
The longest sixless streak by someone who led that year's tournament in sixes is 58 by Carolyn Howard in 2013. After collecting 10 sixes in the day's first 50 holes, Carolyn did not record another for the duration of the day, which included the last three complete rounds. She still tied Emily Donahue for the most sixes overall and won the birdhouse in a tiebreak. The ten sixes were the second-lowest tourney-leading total in MCMM history.
The longest aceless streak by someone who led that year's tournament in holes-in-one is 74 by Aaron Good in 2000. Aaron had an ace on the 4th hole of the day but didn't manage his second until the 7th hole of the 5th round, at Lighthouse. After the 74-hole aceless streak, Aaron carded 7 of them in a 20-hole span, including the first back-to-back-to-back aces in MCMM history.
Shortest surname of an MCMM player: Dan Lee, Renee Lee, Hunter Lee, Ben Lee, Joshua Fox
Longest surname of an MCMM player: Cathy Decesaro-Freye
The only letters that begin the surnames of zero MCMM veterans are Q, U, X, and Y. The only letters that don't begin the first name of any MCMM veteran are Q & Y.
Now a global draw, the Mini Masters has lured competitors residing in California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as citizens of Canada and Peru.
Champion records
The following is a listing of record highs and lows for tournament champions in their championship years.
Oldest champion: Age 59, Michael Cullen, 2015
Youngest champion: Age 22, Matthew Cullen, 2001
Fewest strokes: 229, Derek Hartmann, 2025
Most strokes: 266, Michael Cullen, 1998
Best score relative to par: -41, Tom Schweiss, 2018
Worst score relative to par: -2, Jason Gola, 2021
Most holes-in-one: 13, Derek Hartmann, 2025
Fewest holes-in-one: 2, Tom Schweiss, 2008
Most twos: 80, Justin Gutche, 2026
Fewest twos: 55, Michael Cullen, 1998
Most threes: 37, Michael Cullen, 1998
Fewest threes: 19, Mick Cullen, 2012
Most fours: 11, Michael Cullen, 1999
Fewest fours: 1, Tom Schweiss, 2009, 2013; Mick Cullen, 2023; Derek Hartmann, 2025
Most fives: 2, five times
Fewest fives: 0, fifteen times
Most sixes: 2, Matthew Cullen, 2001; R.J. Dusak, 2005; Tom Schweiss, 2009
Fewest sixes: 0, twenty-four times
Most albatrosses: 1, Michael Cullen, 2006; Matthew Cullen, 2007
Fewest albatrosses: 0, twenty-seven times
Most eagles: 7, Michael Cullen, 2000
Fewest eagles: 1, Tom Schweiss, 2017; Jason Gola, 2021
Most birdies: 43, Tom Schweiss, 2018
Fewest birdies: 22, Tom Schweiss, 2013
Most pars: 67, Justin Gutche, 2026
Fewest pars: 39, Mick Cullen, 2002; Tom Schweiss, 2003
Most bogeys: 25, Michael Cullen, 1998
Fewest bogeys: 5, Tom Schweiss, 2009
Most double bogeys: 7, Michael Cullen, 1999
Fewest double bogeys: 0, Tom Schweiss, 2003, 2006, 2018
Most triple bogeys: 3, R.J. Dusak, 2005
Fewest triple bogeys: 0, twenty-one times
Most quadruple bogeys: 1, Matthew Cullen, 2001
Fewest quadruple bogeys: 0, twenty-eight times
Best score at Aloha Falls: 40, Mick Cullen, 2016
Worst score at Aloha Falls: 52, R.J. Dusak, 2005
Best score at Ballybunion: 40, Michael Cullen, 2004
Worst score at Ballybunion: 41, R.J. Dusak, 2005
Best score at Congo Falls: 36, Justin Gutche, 2026
Worst score at Congo Falls: 43, Jason Gola, 2021
Best score at Congo Rapids: 36, Justin Gutche, 2026
Worst score at Congo Rapids: 41, Mick Cullen, 2023
Best score at Congo River Kenosha: 38, R.J. Dusak, 2005; Michael Cullen, 2006
Worst score at Congo River Kenosha: 46, Michael Cullen, 1999
Best score at Harry Semrow: 45, Jason Gola, 2021
Worst score at Harry Semrow: 45, Jason Gola, 2021
Best score at Kristof's: 36, Derek Hartmann, 2025
Worst score at Kristof's: 45, Michael Cullen, 2000; Matthew Cullen, 2007
Best score at Lighthouse: 36, Michael Cullen, 2006
Worst score at Lighthouse: 45, Michael Cullen, 1999
Best score at Lost Falls: 41, Michael Cullen, 2000; Mick Cullen, 2011; Derek Hartmann, 2025
Worst score at Lost Falls: 51, Matthew Cullen, 2001
Best score at Par-King Black: 35, Tom Schweiss, 2009
Worst score at Par-King Black: 44, Tom Schweiss, 2013
Best score at Par-King Red: 33, Tom Schweiss, 2018
Worst score at Par-King Red: 40, Tom Schweiss, 2013
Best score at Rocky's Fun House Gurnee: 38, Matthew Cullen, 2007
Worst score at Rocky's Fun House Gurnee: 44, R.J. Dusak, 2005
Best score at Rocky's Fun House Waukegan: 39, Tom Schweiss, 2009
Worst score at Rocky's Fun House Waukegan: 39, Tom Schweiss, 2009
Best score at Sisolak's East: 35, Tom Schweiss, 2003
Worst score at Sisolak's East: 43, Michael Cullen, 1998
Best score at Sisolak's West: 36, Mick Cullen, 2012
Worst score at Sisolak's West: 45, Matthew Cullen, 2001
Best score at Wild West: 39, Derek Hartmann, 2025
Worst score at Wild West: 51, Mick Cullen, 2016
Best score at Wisconsin Adventure: 35, Derek Hartmann, 2025
Worst score at Wisconsin Adventure: 43, Michael Cullen, 2015
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