Winings Wire to Wire

For the eighth time in the stroke-play history of the Indiana Amateur Championship (prior to 1973 the Championship was match play format) the winner lead the field for the entire 72 holes. Andy Winings of Brownsburg claimed the title of the 107th Championship, finishing at 9 better than par at Otter Creek GC in Columbus.

In an amazing four rounds that included 26 birdies, 33 pars and even a quadruple bogey, Winings finished the tournament two stokes ahead of Andrew Rhodes from Sweetser and three strokes ahead of Justin Hueber, Fishers and Chris Baker of Brownstown.

Confident is the word to describe Winings play for the final round. Setting his stride, Winings began the round with three routine pars. On the par four-fourth hole he dropped his approach to 1.5 feet and began the run for the title with only a couple of blips on the screen.

After an up and down par on the fifth hole from a greenside bunker, and a routine par on #6, Winings took his toughest test of the week when an errant drive on #7 began the tumble to a quadruple bogey 8 on the par four which dropped him to 5-under. Rhodes birdied that same hole to momentarily take the lead at 6-under.

Appearing unfazed, Winings promptly birdied the par three eighth and the ninth hole to go out in 37. After Hueber birdied #8 and #9 as well, and Rhodes bogied #7 and #8, Winings and Hueber made the turn tied at 7-under.

The turning point for Winings came on the tenth hole. His second shot in to the green was dead on the flag, but fell short and buried in a bunker. Getting his third shot out, but barely on the green, his putt fell for a par save. With only one bogey in the last 11 holes, Winings never looked back. With 16 of his 26 birdies for the week occurring on the back nine, Winings knew how to play the last nine holes well.

Even after Rhodes drove the green on the eleventh and made the 15-footer for eagle, Winings made birdie to stay one ahead of both Rhodes and Hueber. He got it to 9-under with a birdie putt on #13, but gave it back on #15, a tough, up-hill par three, when he missed the green.

Winings gave away an opportunity on #17 when his 15-foot putt narrowly missed the hole, but he capitalized on his birdie from yesterday’s round three on the par five #18 by knowing exactly what he had to do to repeat. Hitting a hard 3-iron to the center of the green on his second shot, Winings made a solid putt and tapped in for birdie and the win.

Rhodes began and finished the final round two-shots back of Winings, with consistent rounds of 70-70-70-71—281. He went out for round four at 1-over par, but with the help of the eagle on #11 and two birdies, Rhodes finished at 7-under for the tournament. The birdie on #18, when he sank 40+ footer, gave him second place alone.

Third place finisher, Baker, posted the day’s low round of 66. Carding a 67 was last year’s Amateur Championship runner-up, Chris Clemens of Beech Grove. That 67 gave Clemens 5th place.

Round 3 – 107th Indiana Championship

Winings In at 8-Under After Round 3

What a difference a day makes. A cut in field, a change in playing partners and things begin to shake out. The greens on the 7,077 yard Otter Creek GC in Columbus have firmed up, the pin placements begin to be tougher and the nervous energy on the course is palpable as the final 71 contestants battle for the 107th Indiana Amateur Championship.

Andy Winings of Brownsburg, leader for the first two rounds, narrowly averted a disaster after shooting a 43 on the front nine, but managed to collect his thoughts and game to come back with a 3-under 33 on the back nine. The final 76 for the round lost him 4 strokes to par for the tournament, but still gives him a two-stroke advantage over the next closest competitor.

Paired with Eric Barnes of Marion and Derek Bolling of Huntingburg, Winings hit is second shot on the par 5 #1 hole into the hazard and was forced to take a penalty and a bogey. And as is often the case, things got worse before they got better. Finishing the last five holes of the nine at 5-over, it looked as if Winings had stepped aside. But he pulled off a remarkable turn-around, and shave 10 strokes off his front nine hole score by carding four birdies on the back with only one other three-putt bogey.

Andrew Rhodes, Sweetser, alone in second place, shot his third score of 70 for the tournament, showing that consistency pays off. Rhodes eagled the first hole, but gave them both back with a double on #3. Three birdies on the back, after one bogey on #9 brought him in with a 37-33—70. He will be in the final threesome for the final round, teeing off at 9:50 tomorrow.

Justin Hueber, Fishers, moved into a tie for third and a berth in the final threesome after shooting a 69 for the day. The nineteen-year old Hueber carded only one bogey and four birdies for his 3-under round. He now stands at 5 better than par, or 211.

Tied with Hueber for third at 211 is Eric Barnes of Marion. After shooting 69-68, Barnes too struggled today, coming in with a 74.

Derek Bolling, Huntingburg fell to 5th place with rounds of 69-69-76—214.

Chris Baker, Brownstown, finished the third round alone in 6th place with 71-72-73—216.

Winings was not the only competitor that struggled in the third round. Only six players managed to come in with an under-par round, including Hueber and Rhodes.

James Sacheck, Zionsville, fired the low round 68, which moved him to a tie for 11th place.

Eric Steger, Noblesville, also carded a 2-under par round, and is tied for 19th for the tournament.

Todd Brittain, Russiaville (T16), and Kyle Cox, Springville (T27), were the only others in under par for the day with 71s.

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Winings In at 12-Under After Round 2 -
Ties Lowest Second Round Score in State Am

“I’m starting to play the way I feel I\like I can. I am looking forward to the rest of the summer and my junior year (at University of Kentucky). The rest of the summer includes a tour of the Cantigny Golf Club in Illinois for the US Amateur Public Links, along with Chris Baker, Brownstown and a trip to the Southern Amateur. Winings will also be attempting to qualify for the US Amateur at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, and has applied for exemption to the Western Amateur at Point O’ Woods GC in Benton Harbor, Mich.

Winings, teeing off on hole #10 fired a 6-under 30 on the first nine (six birdies), and an even par 36 on the second nine after two three-putts gave him bogeys. Winings tied the lowest second round scores of David Cunningham at Otter Creek in 1989, Marty Rifkin at Sycamore Hills in 1999 and Jeff Overton at the Brickyard in 2004.

Winings, teeing off on hole #10 fired a 6-under 30 on the first nine (six birdies), and an even par 36 on the second nine after two three-putts gave him two of three bogeys.

Winings tied the lowest second round scores of David Cunningham at Otter Creek in 1989, Marty Rifkin at Sycamore Hills in 1999 and Jeff Overton at the Brickyard in 2004.

The stroke play record for the lowest tournament score is 272, held by 1974 State Champion, Kent Frandsen of Lebanon. Since 1973 when the Indiana Amateur Championship was changed from a match play event to a stroke play event, seven title holders have led the Championship wire to wire.

Erik Barnes of Marion remains in second place with a 68 to pair with his first round 69.

Peter O’Neill, Carmel, and Derek Bolling Huntingburg, matched 69s for both rounds to easily survive the 151 cut with a two round total of 138 (tied for fifth).

David Hagan, Indianapolis, is currently tied for fifth place with a 69-71—140, along with Andrew Rhodes, Sweetser, who carded two 70s for his 140 and Troy Farris, Brazil with a 69-71.

66 Leads Round 1 – Andy Winings, Brownsburg

Hitting wedges tight and “making a few putts,” put Andy Winings at the head of the field after round 1. The junior at University of Kentucky hopes to keep his composure tomorrow since it “is only the second day, I’ll just take it one day at a time and see what happens.” Carding matching 33s at Otter Greek GC in Columbus, Winings scored seven birdies and only one bogey for the day. Winings finished tied for third in the 2006 Championship.

Edging out the six players at 69, Robert Gleixner, Greenwood, posted a 68 for his opening round. Gleixner, who will be attending Florida Southern University in the fall, attributes his steady 34-34—68 to sticking to his game plan. “It is something my coach really stressed to me. He gave me a lot of literature about making a plan and sticking to it.” Gleixner will spend Monday evening writing out a new plan for Tuesday’s second round.

Three additional 69s posted in the afternoon went to Joel Bickel, Angola, David Hagan, Indianapolis and Erik Barnes, Marion. Hagan, who plays out of Country Club of Indianapolis, began playing golf about 10 years ago after a baseball career at IU. After carding a 36 on his front nine, Hagan “stopped hitting it crooked on the back,” and came in with 33. The hot humid weather played havoc with the green, and Hagan admits he will be glad to tee it up early on Tuesday.

A sophomore at Austin Peay University in Clarksville, Tenn., Erik Barnes “hit it really well, but didn’t make any putts until the back nine.” His nines of 38-31 consisted of 5 birdies after hitting 17 greens.

Joel Bickel, the 22 year-old from Angola, posted the sixth 69 of the day (tied for third) after carding five birdies and two bogies. Both bogies were on the front nine giving him 36-33 for the round.

Competitors saw three scores of 69 on the leaderboard as they teed it up for the second half of round on in the 107th Indiana Amateur Championship being held at Otter Creek GC in Columbus this week.

Leading the field at the half-way mark in round one with 3-better than par are Troy Farris from Brazil, Derek Bolling, Huntingburg and Peter O’Neill from Carmel.

First in, Farris hung tough after a bogey on the first hole. Believing that some “luck out there,” helped him make it around with only two bogeys, even his misses left him in good position. Farris, who is assistant superintendent at the Brazil GC has been “playing well this summer,” even carding a 59 on his home course in a casual round.

Bolling, playing out of Huntingburg CC, made a 50-footer on the first hole. “That relaxed me and I had a turkey-run going” on #5, #6 and #7. The birdie on #7 was nearly an eagle when he hit his second to the lip for a tap-in. Bolling tied for 13th at the 2006 Championship.

Exempt in this field, the 2006 Boys State Champion, Peter O’Neill, is playing in his first IGA state championship, and will be playing in the AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions in Florida in July. A recent graduate of Carmel High School, O’Niell will be attending Xavier to play golf in the fall. “I made a lot of pars out there, and no bogeys, explaining his steady play for the round.

Past Champions in the 2007 Field

2006 - Jeff Smith
Soon Ko - 1993 and 1995
Randy Nichols, 1996

When competing against the best amateurs in Indiana a little past champion experience is always helpful, however the hot temperatures seemed to have contributed to the hot scores posted in the first round or the 107th Indiana Amateur Championship being held at Otter Creek GC in Columbus. That being said, the past champions in the field have a tough battle ahead of them for a repeat championship.