It was back-and-forth battle today at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield during the final round of the Indiana PGA Indianapolis Open. Jack Sparrow, a junior at Indiana University, began the day at 6-under-par, with a one-shot lead over Kenny Cook of Noblesville. Sparrow maintained that lead until the par-5, 17th when his tee shot found the hazard just left of the fairway. With a long, side winding putt, he snuck in his par.
“I made that hole more difficult than it should have been,” said Sparrow. “But I hit a good enough putt where my line and speed matched up, and that was definitely a boost heading to 18.”
After Sparrow’s par-save, Cook proved he still had some fight left – responding with a six-foot conversion for birdie and his first share of the lead.
The duo headed to the par-4, 18th squared up at 9-under-par. With two solid approach shots, and two realistic birdie looks, both players just missed, making pars and forcing a playoff.
The playoff was contested on the difficult par-4, 10th hole, where once again Sparrow and Cook had realistic looks at birdie. Cook was first to putt, missing on the high side and securing par. Sparrow converted his second big putt of the day to claim his first-ever Indiana PGA title.
“This win definitely means a lot to me, and feels full circle after all of the hard work I’ve put in in the last six months,” said Sparrow.
Due to a wrist injury, Sparrow hasn’t been able to play competitively since September.
“I feel healthy again, have been practicing a lot, and it really feels great to see all of my hard work pay off,” he added.
Sparrow plans to play in a few events this summer across the country, and locally hopes to qualify for the Indiana Amateur Championship, which will be contested at Purgatory GC in Noblesville, June 17-20.
With a 68 during today’s round, Ethan Shepherd, also a member of Indiana University’s Men’s Team, finished third at 6-under-par.