There was a fight for the title today at the Pete Dye Course at French Lick where Vince Drahman of Old Oakland Golf Club and Dave Pugh of Mystic Hills battled it out for the PGA Tournament of Champions victory through a 2-hole playoff. Ultimately, Drahman came out on top to win his first individual section win as a Professional.
Drahman closed out the first day of the tournament with a small one stroke lead over Craig Isabel of Stonehenge Golf Course. However, Franklin Crist of Fort Wayne Country Club and Pugh were just two strokes shy of the lead and made sure to give Drahman a run for his money in the final round.
The last few holes of the final round were a bit of a struggle for Drahman and ultimately pushed him into a playoff with Pugh.
“Sixteen was just a bad swing at the wrong time. I think it is a very difficult hole and I have been struggling with wind off the left all year. Dave and I both made a couple mistakes going down the stretch but going into the playoff, I just felt like I had a second life honestly” said Drahman.
With the incredible views and majestic design that the Pete Dye Course brings, it also brings difficult elevation changes and a thrilling challenge.
Drahman added “I was just excited to have a chance and with playing that golf course, any bad swing can get you in trouble. I was trying not to take anything too personal and I know it wasn’t really a reflection of my game and going into the playoff I was just excited to have another chance at it.”
In December, Drahman went down to Port St. Lucie, Florida for the National PGA Tournament Series where he lost three playoffs. Drahman noted that winning this tournament in a playoff setting means a lot of him, especially due to this being his first individual section victory as a pro.
In the Senior Division, our 2023 Indiana PGA Senior Player of the Year, Mike O’Toole of Noblesville came through with rounds of 73,73 to finish with an overall total of +2, four strokes ahead of runner-up Gary Robison of Crooked Stick.
O’Toole remained steady throughout round 2 finishing with four Birdies and twenty-seven pars between both days of the competition.
“Over the three days, I made at least three clutch par putts, which was huge not only for me but to keep the round going and keep those par streaks in tact. I would have to say the clutch putting and weird situations where you needed to make it, I made it” said O’Toole.
Robison finished right alongside O’Toole on day one with a 73 but had six Bogeys in the final round, which deterred him from staying close with O’Toole after the conclusion of the front nine.