Trailing by three heading into the final round of the IGA
Mid-Amateur Championship held at Briar Ridge CC, Avon’s Brett Widner knew he
needed to do something impressive to have a chance. Widner started off the day with a 4-under-par
32 on his front nine, and put himself right back in contention.
His biggest competitors proved to be first round leader,
Terry Werner, a member at Briar Ridge, and Keith Blythe of Decatur, Ind. It was a back-and-forth battle between
Widner, Werner, and Blythe and it came down to the 18th hole.
Widner sat comfortably in the clubhouse at 3-under-par for
the tournament and Werner and Blythe headed to 18 also at 3-under-par. Werner’s tee shot found the right rough and
he was unable to hit the green in two, leaving himself with a difficult
up-and-down for par. Blythe hit his tee
shot right down the middle of the fairway, but also missed the green and saw
himself with an up-and-down opportunity from the fringe for par, which he knew he needed in
order to get himself into a playoff.
Both Werner and Blythe failed to get up-and-down for par,
and just like that Bretty Widner, who was preparing himself for a playoff,
claimed the title, as the only player to finish with a two-day total of 141.
“On my front nine today I really had my putter going,”
Widner said. “I drove the ball really
well today, also, like I have been all summer.
Overall, it was a great day.”
Widner’s round consisted of six birdies coming on the par 5,
3rd, the par 4, 5th, the par 4, 8th, the par
5, 9th, the par 5, 12th, and the par 5, 15th. He only carded three bogeys today coming on
holes 13, 14, and 16.
“It feels great to win,” Widner said. “The field is so strong and made up of many nationally
accomplished players. I feel very
honored.”
This is Widner’s second IGA win, with his first coming in
2011 at the Pepsi Indiana Golf Championships in the Amateur Division.
Werner and Blythe finished in a tie for second at 2-under
par. There was a three way tie for
fourth including Skip Runnels of Richmond, who fired a 5-under-par 67 today,
Kenny Cook of Noblesville, and Moore of
Williamsburg.