When looking at the leaderboard after round two of the Indiana PGA Assistants Championship, the players to watch were Hartley McLeod (5-under-par), John DalCorobbo (4-under-par), and Michael Asbell (2-under-par). Playing one group ahead of the leaders was Aaron Harrell, who began the day at 1-under-par, four shots out of the lead.
Harrell was competing in his first ever Assistants Championship this week and grabbed a victory, posting a 3-under-par, 69 today. Making the turn at even par for the day, 1-under-par for the tournament, Harrell saw himself five shots back heading to the back nine.
“My putting really saved me this afternoon,” Harrell said. “I was all over the place off the tee, but my putter got hot on the back nine.”
DalCorobbo was 6-under-par (tournament total) through 12 holes, but made triple on the par-3, 13th after his caddy touched his line of play with the flagstick. DalCorobbo fell to 3-under-par and was never able to catch Harrell from that point forward.
Harrell went eagle, birdie, birdie on holes 12, 13 and 14 to get to 4-under-par. Although he made bogey on the par-5, 15th he bounced back with a chip-in birdie on 17 to post a tournament total of 4-under-par, 212 and claim a one shot victory.
Harrell finished runner-up in this year’s Indiana PGA Southern Open and claimed his first Section win today.
“It feels great to have won this event my first time around,” Harrell said. “Honestly when I started off today I didn’t think I was going to have much of a chance, but I had a good stretch of holes and things worked in my favor.”
This week, players competed for three qualifying spots to participate in the National Assistants Championship, which will be contested October 29 through November 1 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. at The Wanamaker GC.
Harrell, Hartley McLeod, Sycamore Hills GC, and Robert Bader, Crooked Stick, will represent Indiana this fall. McLeod and Bader posted tournament totals of 3-under-par, 213 and defeated John DalCorobbo in a playoff, claiming spots in the Championship.