Minnetonka's Pederson To Golf For Gophers After Starring In Div. III

MINNEAPOLIS, MN —After a standout collegiate golf career at Division III Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnetonka High graduate Jacob Pederson has transferred to the University of Minnesota, the Big Ten school said last week.

In a release, the Golden Gophers program announced that it had officially added Pederson to its roster for the 2022-23 season after Pederson's tender was approved. Like many collegiate athletes, especially in Division III, Pederson's four-year career was at times curtailed by the pandemic.

Though Pederson still had plenty of time to shine.

On Thursday, Pederson was named to the 2022 Division III PING All-America Third Team, his second consecutive All-America honor.

In May, Pederson was named the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Player of the Year. He also won the award in 2018-19. Pederson was just the sixth men's golfer to earn multiple MIAC Player of the Year honors in his career, and just the second to do so in non-consecutive seasons.

This past season, Pederson was the conference champion and led the MIAC with an average of 72.2 shots over 20.5 rounds. His career scoring average of 72.2 is the lowest in Gustavus Adolphus history.

Pedersen also recently became just the 16th man in conference history to be named All-MIAC four times.

"We are so excited to welcome Jacob and his family to our program to build on what has been an amazing collegiate career already," Gophers head coach Justin Smith said. "His experience and talent will be such a huge impact to a core roster that we are really excited about. Jacob defines what our CommitNorth identity is all about."