Tom Whaley of the Minneapolis Golf Club shot a 75 Thursday for an even-par 145 and a one-shot lead the 26th MGA Mid-Amateur Championship in Alexandria, Minn. Whaley, the 2009 champion, also led by a stroke after the first round of the 54-hole tournament.
Tied for second were Jesse Bull, whose 70 was the best score on the second day, Ken Basten, David Steingart and Will Hickey.
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• Nebraska's Cassie Deeg, a sophomore from Hugo, was named the Big Ten women's golfer of the week. She won the Chip-N Club Invitational last weekend with a three-round score of 213, which also helped the Cornhuskers win their first tournament title since 2008. Deeg was the Class 3A state champion in Minnesota in 2011 as a senior at Stillwater.
• Bill Israelson, who won the Minnesota Senior PGA Pro Championship on Wednesday, and the next six finishers all advanced to the national championship Oct. 11-13 in Leesburg, Va. Those six are Mike Zinni and Jay Norman, who finished a shot back of Israelson at Mendakota Country Club in Mendota Heights, and Don Berry, Dale Jones, Mike Barge and Bump Werness. Berry tied for 28th a year ago in the national meet, earning an exemption.
