Fort Wayne’s Joe Hayden was one of only two players to better par today at the IGA Tournament of Champions at Fox Prairie GC in Noblesville. Hayden’s 2-under-par 69 gained him a one shot lead over Carmel’s Tyler Bale heading into tomorrow.
“I got off to a little bit of a rough start,” Hayden said. “I was 2-over after four and it wasn’t until my back nine that things really began to click.”
Although Hayden’s round was fairly inconsistent, he was able to cancel out his mistakes with four birdies coming on the par 4, 3rd hole, the par 5, 6th hole, the par 4, 9th hole, and the par 3, 16th hole. His highlight of the day was on the 463 yard, par 5, 1st (his 10th hole) where he sunk a ten foot putt for eagle.
“I hit two good shots and put myself in a good position,” Hayden said. “Making that putt really kick started my day.”
Hayden has been a champion of this event twice before, with wins coming in ’09 and ’11. Hayden looks to tie Chris Clemens’ record of three Tournament of Champions victories.
“Winning would be awesome,” Hayden said. ”It is a great field and I look forward to playing in this tournament each year.”
Noblesville’s Tyler Bale is alone in second place having fired a 1-under par 70. Eleven players are within four shots of the lead heading into the final round tomorrow, including the 2012 IGA Player of the Year, Kenny Cook who is three shots back after firing a 1-over-par 72.