Despite a few poor shots late in his round, Mike
Asbell of Harbour Trees GC was able to hold onto his lead at the Indiana PGA National Car Rental
Assistant Championship held at Brickyard Crossing GC. After an impressive first day of tournament
play, Asbell had a seven shot lead, which he saw grow to eleven at one point
today. His 5-over-par 77 today was
enough for a two shot victory over Benjamin Engle of Riverside Golf Academy.
“After
losing a ball on 14, I wasn’t too worried because I knew I had a good lead,”
Asbell said. “I knew I just needed to
hit one solid shot and I would be in good shape.”
After
taking a 6, 7, and an 8 on holes 14, 15, and 16, Asbell saw his lead diminish
to just two heading to the par 3, 17th hole.
“I knew I
needed to get back on track and just hit the green and stop the bleeding,”
Asbell said. “I took a nice smooth swing
and that was probably one of my best shots of the day. After paring 17 and hitting the green in two
on 18, I felt like there was nothing I could do to lose it and I just needed to
get the ball in the hole.”
Asbell’s
victory today earned him a spot in the 37th Callaway Golf PGA Assistant
National Championship which will be held at PGA Golf Club (Wanamaker Course) in
Port St. Lucie, Florida, October 31-November 3rd, 2013.
“This has
been a goal of mine for the past three years,” Asbell said. “It feels awesome to finally achieve it.”