By Nick Hunter

COON RAPIDS, Minn. – Stringing together three birdies over a four-hole span Sunday at Bunker Hills Golf Club helped professional Trey Fessler to a round of 1-under 71 to earn a share of the lead with Andrew Israelson at the 2025 Minnesota Section Assistant PGA Championship.

Fessler and Israelson find themselves atop a crowded leaderboard heading into Monday’s final round as 16 players are separated by only four shots.

“I’ve played here so much, I think I just know how to score out here,” Fessler said Sunday. “It wasn’t great all around, but I got the driver going on the back and made some easy birdies.”

Fessler, 24, struggled during his opening nine Sunday, turning in 1-over in large part to a double-bogey at the par-4 fifth.

Finding his stride over his final nine holes, Fessler got up-and-down from a greenside bunker at the 11th to draw even before dropping his birdie look from 20 feet at the 13th to move into red figures.

On in two at the 14th, Fessler two-putted for birdie to reach 2-under for the round, but took a step back with a bogey at the 16th, shooting 1-under 71 to earn a share of the first-round lead.

“I’m not practicing that much. My practice is tournament rounds, which is a blessing because I’m still able to play a lot. I did not quite prepare how I wanted to, but showing that I shot 71 and I’m tied for the lead is pretty good.

“Limit dumb mistakes—a [double-bogey] on five is unacceptable. You just can’t do that.”

In 24 events this season, Fessler has eclipsed more than $16,000 in earnings, including a win at the Northfield Golf Club Pro-Am in June.

A winner of 10 section events this season, Israelson enters the week after finishing tied for 28th at the PGA Tour Americas’ CRMC Championship presented by Northern Pacific Center two weeks ago at Cragun’s Legacy Courses.

The 27-year-old has racked up 25 top-10 finishes in 29 events this season and has not finished worse than 14th all season.

Israelson began with a birdie at the second from five feet, but would turn in even par following a bogey at the ninth.

From the rough, Israelson’s wedge at the 15th stopped 10 feet from the pin and he’d convert a second birdie chance of the day to help him card a 1-under to share the lead with 18 holes to play.

“I drove it poorly off the tee, so I was scrambling a little bit today,” Israelson said following his round. “Drive it just good enough where it wasn’t blocked, but solid. Made a bunch of pars. I’d like to drive it a little better tomorrow, it’s not that much fun to play for par.”

“With how I remember this golf course, you can’t really go at stuff because you can get some funny bounces. I probably played a little more tentatively.

The top three players from this week’s championship will advance to the national event Nov. 13-16 at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Timothy Brovold, Logan Toftner and Matthew Sandquist will begin Monday’s final round one shot back of Fessler and Israelson after all three posted rounds of even par 72 Sunday.

Aaron Nelson, Zach Granoff and Bennett Lundy will enter the final 18 holes tied for sixth, two shots back.

The final round of the 2025 Minnesota Section Assistant PGA Championship will begin at 8 a.m. Monday at Bunker Hills Golf Club.

Leaderboard: https://mnpga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/mnpga25/event/mnpga2512/contest/9/leaderboard.htm