Indiana Professional Golf Association, Peru, IN (July 29) —
The Indiana PGA Assistant Professional Championship brought the heat in more ways than one at Rock Hollow Golf Club, with temperatures soaring into the 90s and the competition just as intense.
After an opening-round 65, Indiana Open Champion, Nick Bienz stormed to a five-shot lead heading into Tuesday’s final round. The final pairing featured Bienz alongside fellow competitors Peyton Snoeberger and Oliver Mast.
While Bienz set the pace early, he couldn’t sustain the momentum in the scorching conditions. His final round included three bogeys and a double, opening the door for a red-hot round from Mast.
Seizing the opportunity, Oliver Mast delivered a flawless second-round 63 — bogey-free with two eagles and five birdies — to overtake Bienz and claim the championship by three strokes.
“I got off to a little bit of a rough start yesterday,” Mast said. “So I just told myself, ‘If I can just not make another bogey, that’d be great.’ That ended up working out.”
Playing with added confidence after winning the PGA Pro-Assistant just a week earlier, Mast adjusted his strategy for the final round at Rock Hollow.
“My plan was to be a little more aggressive. I’ve played here quite a bit, so I took driver in some ‘uncomfy’ spots — and it worked out. I gave myself more birdie looks than I normally would.”
The highlight of the round came on the 18th green, where Mast’s par save kept his bogey-free card intact. His chip onto the green would have flown over, had the flag not caught and dropped his ball to six feet from the pin.
“I’ll call that one lucky,” he laughed. “I missed my landing spot by a couple yards and almost paid for it. I had to grind a little bit, but I didn’t look at a leaderboard all day — just tried to keep going.”
Despite Mast’s winning performance, eligibility requirements for the 49th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship meant he was unable to advance. Instead, Carson Wattenbarger and Cody McNew, were the two highest finishers meeting eligibility. They secured their spots in the national field set for November at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.