FARGO — Marco Trstenjak shot a Thursday afternoon round of 8-under 62 to join Luke Kluver and Ryan Gronlund on top of the leaderboard at the Bobcat North Dakota Open at Rose Creek.
The Winnipeg native had a bogey-free round to join Kluver, of Norfolk, Nebraska, and Gronlund, of Driftwood, Texas, in the 54-hole tournament.
With a couple of 8-under rounds posted in the morning wave, Trstenjak took a look at the leaderboard and started off hot.
“I saw there were a couple of ‘8s’ (8-unders) and I knew it was going to be windy this afternoon so I figured if I could put a good one together that I would have a good chance to make some birdies tomorrow morning,” Trstenjak said. “I can’t say I expected to shoot 8-under but obviously happy to do so.”
Trstenjak sandwiched birdies around an eagle on the par-5 third hole and his 5-foot birdie on No. 17 gave him a share of the lead. A long birdie putt on the 18th dove under the hole as his amateur players looked on for his personal tournament low score.
“I just kept telling myself if I didn’t make the mistakes I would get the chances again and make some more birdies and that’s what I did,” Trstenjak said. “I grinded out the pars and I was able to get on a birdie run on the back nine, which also helped.”
Bryce Barker, another Canadian who plays out of Phoenix, shot a 64 and is tied for fifth place. A former professional skier, Barker took up golf in earnest after blowing his knee out in his mid-20s. The 33-year-old made one bogey in his round.
Unlike most of his fellow competitors, Barker didn’t attend college. After his injury, he started working at a golf course in Canada and turned pro in 2019. He said he played golf occasionally as a child until skiing became his passion.
Now it’s golf.
“It was pretty quick,” Barker said of his improvement in golf. “I definitely didn’t expect even the success I have had.”
Starting his round on No. 10, he birdied his first three holes, which included a near-ace on the 11th hole. A short miss on 13 lead to a bogey before he birdied the 18th hole to go out in 32. He added three more birdies on the front nine.
Avery Kutter, a graduate of Moorhead High School and a golfer at the University of Jamestown, tees off on hole 1 at the Bobcat North Dakota Open on Thursday, August 20, 2026, at Rose Creek Golf Course.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
“We know there’s birdies out here so you kind of feel you have to always be on the pedal, or at least be somewhat aggressive, especially into greens,” Barker said. “Maybe off the tee, you can be wherever suits your game, but you have to keep the pedal down all week, especially in a three-day (event).”
Josh McCollum of Nashville, Tennessee, sits alone in fourth with a 7-under 63.
Nate Deziel of East Grand Forks, Minnesota, shot a 1-under 69 for the lowest score among regional players. Lucas Johnson of Fargo shot a 74 and Zach Sklebar of Fargo had an opening-round 76.
Among the amateurs, Tyler McNeive had a 7-under 63 while Quinn Breidenbach finished with a 64. Josh Persons of Fargo and Kagan Kollar were two shots back with 65s.
The second round is Friday at Rose Creek with the final round scheduled for Saturday.
Evan Booth, a Fargo South graduate and golfer at the University of Mary, tees off on hole No. 1 at the Bobcat North Dakota Open on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, at Rose Creek Golf Course.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
PROFESSIONALS
First round
Luke Kluver 62, Ryan Gronlund 62, Marco Trstenjak 62, Josh McCollum 63, Bryce Barker 64, Sam Gillis 64, Michael Slesinski 65, Sean Mullan 65, Tyler Seeling 65, Brannon Fahrny 66, Chris Fosdick 66, Brett Sawaia 66, Leo Gellert 67, Stellan Orvick 67, Jakob Chicoyne 67, Anthony Delisanti 67, Brady Madsen 67, Brady Calkins 67, Chris Gilman 67, William Adams 67, Dylan Healey 67, Cole Hanson 68, Josh Nagy 68, Bryce Penn 68, Jack Wetzel 68, Evan Reed 68, Jeff Sorenson 68, Parker Klitzke 69, Nate DeZiel 69, Cody Banach 69, Mason Glinski 69, Anders Larson 69, Conor Schubring 69, David Hansen 69, Logan Hamak 70, Alex Kline 70, Riley Fenson 70, Yilin Sun 70, Sam Murphy 70, Otto Black 70, Dawson Anders 71, Nolan Johnson 71, Stephen Campbell Jr. 71, Jackson Worner 71, Ben Sawaia 71, Rajvir Bedi 72, Tate Olson 72, Austin Vukovits 72, Dawson Wills 73, Lucas Jorgenson 73, Connery Meyer 73, McCord Grice 73, Will Simpson 73, Lucas Johnson 74, Jackson Heazel 74, Justin Egelske 75, Zach Sklebar 76, Logan O’Reilly 76, Jay Frolick 79.
Professional Stellan Orvick from Minneapolis takes a putt at the Bobcat North Dakota Open on Thursday, August 20, 2026, at Rose Creek Golf Course.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
AMATEURS
Tyler McNeive 63, Quinn Breidenbach 64, Josh Persons 65, Kagan Kollar 65, Sean Moore 66, Elias Ekern 66, Jake Palen 67, Tucker D’Allaird 67, Carter White 67, Carver Larson 67, Peyton Albers 67, Anthony Jomphe 67, Andrew Ramos 68, Alex Rhode 68, Joey Mackinac 68, Collin Ramos 68, Trace Mattson 69, Henry Johnson 69, Carter Paulus 69, Mason Roloff 69, Benjamin Freshwater 70, Connor Peterson 70, Nate Peyerl 70, Brayden Aldinger 70, Dexter Burkle 70, Joe Kortan 70, Daniel Conley 70, Avery Kutter 71, Miles Bollinger 71, Andrew Ballou 71, Carson Skarperud 72, Charlie Solberg 72, Brogan Paschal 73, Landon Miller 73, Kaleb Glover 74, Carson Hannestad 74, Ryan Stendahl 74, Brian Tarnowski 74, Ben Bergquist 75, Evan Booth 75, Tristan Tidemann 75, Andrew Bilstad 75, Blake Engstrom 76, Mason Paulus 76, Brad McConn 76, Lucas Schoepp 77, Kyler Schwamb 77, Carter Spalding 78, Weston Nyberg 78, Cole Johnson 78, Dylan Rogne 78, Jackson White 79, Thomas Meader 80, Xander Klinnert 84.