Sioux Falls native Ryan Jansa to play in Sanford International on sponsor's exemption

091120.S.DR.SANFORDINTERNATIONAL_PREV2.JPG — The 16th hole at Minnehaha Country Club is pictured during the 2019 Sanford International golf tournament in Sioux Falls. (Marcus Traxler / Mitchell Republic)

By Matt Zimmer

March 16, 2023 at 9:57 AM

SIOUX FALLS — The Sanford International has awarded its first sponsor’s exemption for the 2023 tournament to Sioux Falls golfer Ryan Jansa.

Jansa, who will turn 50 on April 15, is a seven-time South Dakota Golf Association Male Golfer of the Year. He has won 33 SDGA tournaments throughout his career, including eight SDGA Amateur Championships and nine SDGA Husband/Wife Championships with Julie Jansa.

A sponsor’s exemption on the PGA Tour Champions is when the title sponsor invites a non-exempt player to the event to bypass local qualifying. The New Mexico State graduate was the Big West Conference Individual Champion in 1995 and a first-team all-conference selection in 1996.

Jansa plans to compete in 11 qualifying events for PGA Champions tour tournaments leading up to the Sanford International, beginning with the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in Duluth, Georgia, in May.

“From the time I was three-years old, golf has been my life. My game is at a point where I feel good about how I’m playing, and I’m excited to take on this challenge,” said Jansa. “I’m grateful to Davis Trosin, the Sanford International and Sanford Health for this opportunity to compete in my hometown and live out a childhood dream.”

“Ryan is a legend in the South Dakota golfing community, and we can’t wait to see the amount of support he will have at the Sanford International,” said Davis Trosin, tournament director of the Sanford International. “The local communities play such a vital role in PGA Tour Champions events, and we feel having Ryan in the field will make this year’s tournament a bigger community event for Sioux Falls than ever before.”

By Matt Zimmer

Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, began a long career in amateur baseball and started working as a sports freelancer. Zimmer was hired as a sport reporter at the Argus Leader in 2004, where he covered Sioux Falls high schools and colleges before moving to the South Dakota State University beat in 2014.

Sioux Falls native Ryan Jansa to play in Sanford International on sponsor's exemption

Jansa, 50, was named the S.D. Golf Association's golfer of the year seven times and won 33 tournaments in his career.