During the first tournament series event of the summer, Jon Hoover and Rusty Ripberger were paired together and decided to become teammates for the PGA Four Ball Championship. It turns out they made the right choice. The duo knocked out teams one-by-one advancing to the Four Ball Finals this afternoon at Otter Creek GC where they faced Chad Ayres and Jack Barber.
“We worked really well together,” Ripberger said. “Jon is a very steady player which allows me to be aggressive. He also has a tremendous short game.”
The match was back-and-forth on the front nine, with Ayres and Barber winning three holes to Hoover and Ripberger’s two. They made the turn 1-down. Ripberger went on to make birdie on one of the most difficult holes, the par-4, 10th to get the match back to All Square and from that point forward, Hoover and Ripberger never saw themselves down in the match, but the battle was far from over.
On the par-3, 13th Ripberger easily two-putted for par, while Ayres and Barber failed to get up-and-down. For the second time today, they took a 1-up lead. On the par-5, 14th Ayres responded, sinking a fifty-foot birdie putt to once again square-up the match.
Two bogeys on holes 15 and 16 for Ayres and Barber gave Hoover and Ripberger a 2-up lead with two holes to play, but Ayres proved they were not done quite yet. Sinking another long birdie putt, Ayres and Barber managed to stay alive and the match continued to 18.
With two birdies on the par-5, 18th, Hoover and Ripberger captured the title with a 2-up victory, and for Hoover a special win on his home course.
“It’s always nice to come back and play at Otter Creek,” Hoover said. “I know this course well growing up here and I honestly just love this place. It feels great to win.”
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