Dave Cunningham of Carmel fired a 5-under (66) to grab the lead after the first round of the Indiana PGA Senior Open at Orchard Ridge Country Club in Fort Wayne. His first round finish put him two strokes ahead of Richmond’s Derek Moore and an additional stroke ahead of Dave Pugh of Mystic Hills Golf Club.
Pugh quickly passed Moore and moved into second after two birdies and an eagle on the front nine of the final round. Cunningham remained in the lead until Pugh pulled through with a clutch birdie putt on hole 11, which created a tie for first. Pugh then briefly snatched the lead after Cunningham bogied hole 13 but wasn’t able to hold on for long, doubling hole 14 and once again creating a tie for first coming down the final stretch.
Cunningham and Pugh both finished at a total of 5-under par, pushing them into a playoff for the title.
Pugh and Cunningham battled it out in the playoff and ended up paring out the first three holes. On the fourth playoff hole, Pugh missed his long birdie putt but Cunningham was able to pull through and sink his birdie putt to snag the victory.
“I felt confident going into the playoff and I had been hitting it well. Obviously I struggled putting it down the stretch but I was finally able to make one” said Cunningham.
Cunningham added “I grew up in Indiana and I just moved back so to see my game maintain itself throughout the years is definitely satisfying”.
Next up for Cunningham is the US Senior Open which will take place June 29-July 2 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
Craig Bowden of KBS Shafts put himself in contention early on today by finishing with the lowest round of the day at 5-under par but missed the victory by one stroke.
View full results from the championship here.